The Road to Recovery
by Sakah
Summary: SPOILER WARNING: Continuation of chapter 449. The village of Konoha lays in ruin, yet the danger has not passed. How will Naruto react now Hinata has confessed her love for him, and an old friend returns for one last battle? NaruSasu.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto gave a weary sigh as he observed the rubble of what was left of Konoha. Although he was extremely grateful of what Pein had done, rebuilding the village was one of the last things on his mind at the current moment. All he wanted to do now was to crawl under the shade of the nearest boulder and sleep.

"Kakashi is alive." Katsuya informed him, sounding relieved.

As soon as Katsuya had finished speaking, Naruto bolted towards the growing group of ninjas that surrounded a dazed Kakashi. The surprised grey-haired nin had just gotten to his feet when he toppled over the unexpected weight of his energetic, former pupil.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're back!" Naruto blubbered, refusing to loosen his hold on Kakashi's neck.

"Yes, yes, I'm back." Kakashi replied nonchalantly, figuring he would ask questions once Naruto let go.

"Get off of him!" Sakura shouted with an amused smile. She and Kiba both had to pry Kakashi from Naruto's steel grasp.

The small slug on Kakashi's shoulder now suddenly appeared on the top of Naruto's head.

"Tsunade wants all of Konoha's remaining ninjas and villagers to meet her at the base of the Hokage shrine."

The exhausted ninjas looked at one another, wondering which issue their fifth Hokage would address first. As soon as they began to trek through the remnants of the village, the slugs disappeared with a _poof_.

With an awkward smile plastered on his face, Naruto joined Hinata.

"Hi Hinata," He greeted, not sure of what he should say next. He was certainly shocked, but not repulsed by Hinata's sudden confession. He was just relieved that she hadn't been terrified of him or anything of that sort.

"H-hello Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered, her face glowing red. "I-I'm sorry about what I said earlier. To tell you the truth, I didn't expect t-to even survive."

"That's all right," Naruto chuckled. "I'm just glad to know that you aren't horrified by me. I always wondered why you would faint when I would talk to you."

Naruto's grin faded as Hinata, staying silent, averted her gaze from his. Silently cursing himself for his lack of tact, he allowed the awkward silence to deepen. He quickly snapped out of his wallowing once they reached the base of the mountain.

Tsunade, now showing her true form, appeared sheepish once the village rested their eyes upon her. Although she had definite wrinkled all over her body and bags under her eyes, her aura continued to emanate the same fiery strength from before.

"Citizens of Konoha," She began, her voice weak with strain. "We are a long ways a way from rebuilding the beloved village our forefathers had created. However, it does not mean that it will be impossible to accomplish. From viewing the state of most of you, I think it would be best I shortened my speech and get to the point. Which of you feel you still have the strength to help me out?"

To her surprise, all of the ninjas raised their hands.

"I will break you into teams of three. Once you do this, you will await for further instruction."

"Do you want to join our group, or…?" Sakura nodded sympathetically towards Hinata.

"I'll join you." Naruto replied a little too quickly, not wanting to further screw things up between him and Hinata.

Once the groups were formed, they reported back to Tsunade.

"The sun will be setting soon enough, so I require a few groups to create make-shift tree houses in the nearest forest."

"We'll go." Kakashi offered, surrounded by Naruto and Sakura.

"So will we." Yamato stated.

"As well as our team!" Gai yelled.

"Good. Now, for the rest of the teams, I will need you to guard what's left of our village. I will also need a few of you to dig through the rubble and find any remaining survivors."

Naruto was unusually quiet as he, Sakura, and Kakashi made their way to the forest. Letting loose a silent sigh, Sakura left Kakashi's side to join Naruto.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura greeted softly.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto continued to stare dejectedly at his feet.

"I won't push you any further if you don't want to talk about it, but…" Sakura hesitated. "Are you okay? You and Hinata talked…um…"

"It's okay Sakura," Naruto didn't even bother to conjure a fake smile. "I spoke with Hinata a few minutes ago and I think I must've said something wrong. She didn't really seem like she wanted to talk."

"Just give her a little time," Sakura suggested. "She's a shy girl, but she'll find a way to speak with you again."

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." A hint of his former smile returned.

"It's no problem at all."

Just as Tsunade had predicted, the fading sun was on the purple-tinged horizon by the time they reached the forest. The three chosen teams were quick to create tree houses suitable for sleeping in while they still had the light. Naruto had attempted to create a human-sized hole in a tree using Rasengan, which had ended quite miserably with at least a quarter of the entire forest wiped clean of trees. Kakashi and the others were just grateful that Naruto had used one of his smaller Rasengans this time.

Naruto was now resting comfortably on one of the thicker branches of a tree. Since the "Rasengan incident," he wasn't allowed to help out anymore.

"Anyway, you need the rest after fighting with Pein." Sakura had said with a badly concealed smirk.

"Rest, my butt." Naruto mumbled, still stung by Sakura's remark.

He personally hoped he'd be able to control his chakra well enough to prevent anything disastrous from happening again. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a difficult task to achieve, since his father re-sealed Kyuubi's chakra. His spine tingled at the memories of his conversation with his father; he, Uzumaki Naruto, was the son of the fourth Hokage! Although their meeting was brief, it was one that he was able to replay in his mind over and over again…

As Naruto was nodding off to sleep, a rustling from the bushes and hushed whispers followed by a series of groans. He landed on the forest floor with a light _thump_, and froze at what he saw. Kurenai, clutching her swollen stomach with one hand, was in the arms of Gai. Shikamaru was holding her free hand, whispering to her words of encouragement.

"I found her under the rubble of the hospital," Shikamaru explained. "Will she be okay? Is her baby okay?"

Sakura stepped towards Gai, placing a hand on Kurenai's belly. Everyone held their breath as Sakura's brow furrowed with deep concentration.

"The baby is perfectly fine. Do you feel you are having contractions?"

"I'm not even due for another four weeks," Kurenai replied, biting her lip.

"I think they're probably just false pains," Sakura reassured, her brow still furrowed. "You just need to rest somewhere for a while. If the pain continues for another hour, then please notify me at once."

"Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome. Gai, please follow me."

Sakura slowly waved Gai in, leading him deeper into the dark woods. Feeling completely useless, Naruto took it to himself to guard the forest from any unwelcome intruders. After an hour or two, Kakashi appeared next to Naruto with his hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, you look dead on your feet," Kakashi whispered. "Go get some sleep."

Naruto, already half-asleep, mumbled something about it being his duty to protect the forest. He continued to mumble nonsensical things as Kakashi led him to the nearest tree. However, Naruto stubbornly refused to climb up said tree. Kakashi, quickly becoming impatient by his lack of progress, decided to leave him sleeping on the wide base of the tree.

"Naruto's gonna kill me if his spine is crooked tomorrow…" Kakashi murmured with his arms crossed. "Ah well."

Naruto woke up early that morning with a horrible crick in his neck. He gave a loud yawn as he stretched out his stiff limbs. He gave a satisfied sigh once all the bones in his body were cracked. He even cracked his knuckles just for good measure. His stomach growled at the new scent of a strange, yet salty meat being cooked somewhere.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Lee yelled with a huge grin on his face. "The sun is shining brightly, and it is therefore the perfect day to go training! I've already run 400 laps around the forest, but you can still join me if you'd like!"

Naruto nearly had a heart attack at the sight of Lee's bushy eyebrows, especially so early in the morning.

"Lee, please get out of my face."

"Sure thing! I'll see you around later, then."

"Good morning, Naruto." Sakura greeted, handing him a plate of the mystery meat he smelled earlier.

"'Morning, Sakura-chan."

Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he finally noticed that their make-shift tree houses were completely occupied. While a few of the ninjas were out and about grabbing a bite to eat, a few others were still snoozing away. He hesitantly took his wooden chopsticks, stabbed at the white meat, and placed it in his mouth. To his surprise, the meat was quite tasty.

"Is Kurenai-senpai all right?"

Sakura looked up tiredly from her meal, trying to muster up a smile.

"Yeah, she's fine."

"Are _you _okay? You look really worn out."

"It's nothing, really. Staying up all night is one of the things a medic-nin is expected to do when needed. Anyway, I'll be taking this afternoon off, so please don't go off and destroy any more trees."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

* * *

As Naruto and Sakura continued to converse with one another, a pair of Sharingan eyes were staring hatefully upon the battle-torn village.

"Do you still want to go to Konoha?" Juugo asked, sounding curious.

"Yes. As long as the elders of Konoha are still breathing, I will continue to return until I get my revenge."

"When will we attack?" Karin asked, inching towards Sasuke's rigid figure.

"Tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

It was a long, grueling day for both ninjas and villagers alike. The ninjas formed into their three-man teams and continued to discover people, dead and dying, under the bulk of the fallen buildings. Tsunade had considered sending a few teams off to Suna, but at the last minute, decided against it.

"We need as many helping hands as possible, and there's still a lot to be done before we can face our possible foes directly."

Naruto was about to protest against this, when Kakashi rested a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Now is not the time to go off doing whatever you want. Tsunade needs us to work together to properly rebuild the village."

Naruto nodded, understanding his point. It obviously wasn't the time to take things in his own hands.

"I want the same teams from yesterday to continue what you were doing."

As Naruto was about to head towards the forest, Tsunade demanded to speak with him.

"I heard about the Rasengan incident yesterday," She stopped, seeing the fear in his eyes. "I'm not angry with you. I just want to place you in a different team so you can still be useful. Go join Neji at the gate."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

She gave him a sharp glare at his unexpected lack of rudeness towards her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that…I've been thinking back on my talk with Pein. All I have are more questions that I do answers. And the thing with Hinata…"

"Maybe it would be better if you wait for Hinata to come to you."

"That's what Sakura said!"

"A little patience goes a long way. I'll see you later, kid."

Pondering on what Tsunade and Sakura said, he went to join Neji and his group at the gates of Konoha. He was surprised to discover that Hinata was in Neji and Sai's team. Neither of them spoke to each other. There were, however, moments where they would shyly watch each other from the corners of their eyes, and quickly look away in embarrassment.

During most of the afternoon, Naruto and Neji talked about their favorite jutsus and tools to use. The sun was soon enough setting into the horizon when Neji offered to go out to hunt for their dinner. Naruto nervously looked around, finding Sai painting the sunset in his book, and Hinata staring avidly at the scenery before her.

"Hey Hinata," Naruto began, hoping this conversation would end differently from their previous one. "I haven't really been able to talk with you since I became Jiraiya-sama's pupil. What have you been up to lately?"

"I-I've been training a lot more than usual," Hinata replied quietly. "My spars with Neji have gone quite well."

"Really?" He asked excitedly. "That's really awesome, Hinata-chan. Good luck! I'm sure you'll be able to win against him soon enough."

"Thanks, I-I shouldn't be so reckless, though. You saw what happened when I tried to fight Pein."

"Are you kidding me? You were so brave out there! Oh, I forgot to thank you for doing that. Wait, no, I really didn't mean it like _that_…"

"No, it's all right, Naruto-kun. I think I know what you were trying to say."

Their conversation was interrupted by the return of Neji, whom was holding a large boar. They chatted quietly among each other and ate their dinner. As they were finishing the last few bites, they noticed a small band of unfamiliar figures walking towards the gate. Naruto blinked, and the figures disappeared.

Figuring that it was just the light playing tricks on his eyes, Naruto gave a sleepy yawn. His heart froze in his chest as the tip of a kunai blade traced the arteries of his neck.

"Hello, Naruto," Sasuke's quiet, yet determined voice whispered in his ear. "It's been a while since I've last seen you."

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered angrily. "What the hell are you doing here back in Konoha?"

"What I'm doing here is none of your business."

Sasuke and his comrades disappeared from sight as soon as they had appeared.

"They're running towards the forest," Neji informed, using his Byakugan. He jumped off of the tall gate and ran towards the woods.

Hinata, Sai, and Naruto quickly followed Neji through the wreckage of the village.

_Why on earth is Sasuke back?_ Naruto thought numbly. Even as he tried to look at the situation a hundred different ways, he still couldn't figure out Sasuke's purpose to return to his old home. He gritted his teeth as confusion soon transformed into anger. He would probably have to fight Sasuke, and possibly kill him. Now that Itachi was dead, Naruto had expected Sasuke to at least _seem _a little more cheerful.

_He's still the same, cold jerk I knew from before. I would've thought he'd change a little bit after achieving his life's goal._

Although he and Sasuke used to be friends, Naruto refused to allow this to cloud his judgment. He had sacrificed too much for his village just to let Sasuke do whatever he pleased. Konoha was his home, and he would not allow any more of its members to suffer any longer.

Naruto quickened his pace as he heard terrified screams erupt from the nighttime forest. A shocked Kurenai and Shikamaru emerged from the fringes of the woods.

"Naruto, Sai, Hinata," Shikamaru demanded. "You have to help me find a suitable hiding place for Kurenai."

"I can't," Naruto growled. "Kurenai will only be in more danger if I stick around her. I have to stop Sasuke."

"Fine." Shikamaru replied with an understanding nod.

Before Hinata left with Kurenai and the others, she approached Naruto.

"I-I too used my Byakugan to discover Sasuke's location. He's currently traveling through the forest as we speak. Just continue straight on from where you are standing."

"Thanks," Naruto said with a relieved smile. "I'll see you later!"

He flashed her his trade-mark, yet slightly goofy grin before lunging headfirst into the forest. He was now suddenly aware of every little detail of his surroundings. Knowing Sasuke, he would probably, one way or another, set a trap or two to try to distract Naruto. He recognized the cold determination in Sasuke's eyes; it was the same determination he had in his pre-teens when speaking of his revenge against Itachi. Sasuke meant business.

Naruto gave a yelp of surprise as a kunai with a letter bomb attached to it barely flew past his face. It exploded in contact of a nearby branch, which caused Naruto to go flying a good twenty feet away to the right. His eyes widened in horror as he landed in a concealed pit full with thousands of upturned kunais. Suigetsu leapt from a tree top to inspect his work. A puzzled frown appeared on his face as Naruto dissipated into a cloud of smoke. He barely had time to dodge the two Naruto clones' Rasengan from behind. With a hiss, he grabbed his wounded shoulder.

One of the Naruto clones landed a jaw-breaking punch to his face, which sent Suigetsu flat on his back. Taking advantage of his distraction, the two clones pinned his wrists securely to the ground. The real Naruto emerged from one of the tree houses, and stood over Suigetsu's limp form.

"Why is Sasuke here? Answer my question and I may consider letting you go."

"Sorry, I can't answer that. It's not my secret to tell."

With a frustrated snarl, Naruto threatened to cut off the rest of Suigetsu's shoulder.

Suigetsu merely rolled his eyes, and faked an exaggerated yawn.

"Uh huh, I'd like to see you try."

In truth, Suigetsu's heart was pounding wildly in his chest. With an internal cursing of the Uchiha's soul, he continued to taunt Naruto even further.

"I found a pretty, young pink-haired girl sleeping while I passed by. It was such a waste to kill her that quickly, but I had to sharpen my sword up a bit."

"You…_you_! I'm going to kill you!"

Afraid that he really would carry out his earlier threat, Suigetsu violently kicked Naruto's kneecaps in order to distract him. As the two clones _poofed_ from existence, Suigetsu took the time to grab his sword from behind and swing it towards the howling Naruto. With a shaky jump, Naruto was able to avoid the bulky blade in time.

Naruto swiftly pulled out two kunai blades, ready to fight to the death. Roaring in grief of the pink-haired kunoichi's death, Naruto charged straight towards the shocked ninja. He unexpectedly thrust the kunai into an empty space where Suigetsu used to be. Unfortunately, Naruto was too consumed by rage to notice a puddle of water squirm through his feet and into the bushes. Not bothering to look for his previous opponent, he ran down the path Hinata had told him to follow.

_Even if Sakura _isn't_ dead, Sasuke has just crossed the line! He will not get away with this without a fight._

To his great relief, the trees surrounding him were thinner and shorter as he continued to run. An extremely wide clearing was in view, and he could make out a couple of figures fighting each other.

"Tsunade?" Naruto squinted, seeing a blonde blur run across the clearing.

As he stopped to recognize the figures in the clearing, he felt himself being tackled to the ground. An orange-haired man with a ferocious roar jabbed Naruto in the stomach. Coughing up blood, Naruto woozily rolled to his side to avoid the next furious punch.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Four Naruto clones appeared out of nowhere. The four clones paired up in teams of two to distract Juugo. While the two teams created two Odama Rasengans, the original Naruto escaped Juugo's grasp.

With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Naruto's worse fears were confirmed. Tsunade, looking extremely exhausted, was fighting Sasuke alone.

_No, no, no, no!_

The forest before him seemed to grow larger as Naruto's legs continued to pump steady under him. Why was the clearing starting to disappear? It was as if he was running backwards, or something equally as strange.

_Wait, what is going on?_

On a whim, he spun around to meet the glare of Sasuke's Sharingan. The forest surrounding him melted into the wide, dusty clearing he had previously viewed. Tsunade's limp figure was laying a few feet away, with a pool of blood forming from her head.

"Sasuke!" Naruto snarled, unthinkingly throwing a punch towards the raven's direction.

Sasuke disappeared, with several small snakes taking his place. The hissing snakes wrapped themselves around Naruto's arms and legs, rooting him to the spot. Naruto squirmed uselessly against the snakes' tightening grip.

Suddenly, the hypnosis placed under Naruto faded back into the world of reality. His eyes widened in horror at the unexpected view of the two council elders', Homura and Koharu, dead bodies lying at his feet.

To his left, Sasuke, whom was at least twenty feet away, was charging straight towards Naruto with numerous lighting bolts surrounding his left arm.

"A simple Chidori will suffice to finish you off," Sasuke stated, his eyes glittering with hate. "Once you die, Konoha will be mine to take!"

Naruto's struggles grew weaker as his vision began to flicker under the incredible amount of pressure caused by the snakes.

_Father, Jiraiya, _Naruto thought as Sasuke neared closer. _I'm sorry for breaking my promise to you this quickly._

As Naruto braced himself for the final blow, an image of Hinata and her warm smile conjured in his mind.

_I'm sorry too, Hinata. It doesn't look like I'm indestructible after all._

Instead of feeling any more pain, he only felt the pressure of Sasuke's snakes wrapped around his body. Sasuke lunged pass by Naruto and thrust his arm through Tsunade's abdomen.

"Naruto," Tsunade coughed, blood gushing from her mouth. "T-take m-my…place."

She gave one more gurgle before becoming completely still. With an emotionless expression, Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and extracted his bloody arm from her body.

"Now it's your turn, Naruto," Sasuke said, looking almost bored at the prospect of wasting precious time to kill his former best friend. "The village of Konoha will truly lose hope once its most determined ninja is dead."

"Why?!" Naruto roared. "Why kill me, Tsunade, and the elders? I thought you got your revenge already!"

"No, Naruto," Sasuke shook his head slowly. "It was the elders of Konoha whom wronged me all of those years ago, not Itachi."

"Let's say you did get your revenge," Naruto replied calmly. "What next? Will you go on to kill other people who have wronged you? What happens once all of the people you hate are dead? What does revenge even do for you, Sasuke? It only creates a longer chain of hatred and pain. Was Itachi's death _that_ much of a waste-"

Enraged beyond fury by Naruto's words, Sasuke landed a skin-busting punch to Naruto's nose.

"You're wrong! You think you understand me Naruto, but you don't! This no longer has to do with just myself any longer. I am securing the safety of the Uchiha clan's future by destroying the old Konoha. Under my power, I will create a new and uncorrupted Konoha."

With a surprised grunt, Sasuke froze where he stood. Naruto was about to question him when a fist flew out of nowhere to clonk his motionless head, which knocked Sasuke out cold.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked, not even noticing the absence of the snakes. "You're alive?"

Both Shikamaru and Sakura emerged from behind Sasuke's still figure.

Completely ignoring Naruto, she kneeled over her mentor's dead body. Her figure soon shook with uncontrollable sobs. Naruto was about to go over to comfort her, when Shikamaru blocked him with his arm.

"Not now," Shikamaru said in a whisper. "Let her be for now. Help me with Sasuke and the elders' bodies."

"Is he dead?"

"No."

As Naruto and Shikamaru were about to leave with the bodies, Sakura's sobs subsided.

"Did Tsunade tell you anything before she died?"

"She wanted me to be her successor."

"Let's bring these bodies back to Konoha," Shikamaru suggested. "There are still ninjas to be healed, Sakura-san."

With heavy hearts, they wordlessly trekked through the silent forest.

_I won't let you down, Tsunade-baa-chan._


	3. Chapter 3

The panicked commotion between ninjas and villagers alike came to an abrupt halt once they saw a defeated-looking Sakura with Tsunade's still figure on her back. A few of them let loose screams of horror once they noticed Tsunade's glassy eyes and the gaping wound in her stomach. One or two villagers even fainted at the sight of Shikamaru and Naruto carrying the dead elders in their arms. The ninjas' eyes narrowed in distaste once they saw the unconscious figure of Sasuke on Naruto's back.

"Sakura-san!" A villager cried. "Danzou's been injured, and he isn't breathing!"

Sakura carefully handed Tsunade's body to Kakashi and shuffled tiredly towards where Danzou was located. She placed two fingers on his neck and waited for a pulse. After checking his vital organs, she officially pronounced him dead.

"Internal bleeding," She explained warily to the worried villager.

"Is he the one responsible for their deaths?" Chouza asked with a hard glint in his eye.

Everyone, excluding Sakura and Shikamaru, turned their focus to Naruto.

"Yes, Sasuke and his comrades are responsible for Tsunade, the elders, and probably Danzou's deaths," Naruto explained, somewhat hesitantly. "Tsunade said she wanted me to become the next Hokage, but…"

"But what?" A voice called from the crowd.

"I-I don't really know if it's my decision to make," He said with a slight stutter. "Wouldn't someone older and wiser be picked for the job?"

"I'm sure I speak for a number of people when I say that Naruto should be the sixth Hokage." Shikamaru spoke up. "Kakashi, Shizune, and Chouza wouldn't still be here if it weren't for Naruto's exceptional communication skills."

A mixture of voices agreed and disagreed.

"He's got a point!"

"We can't let a monster become our leader!"

"If Tsunade chose Naruto to be Hokage, then we should respect her wishes," Shino replied quietly, capturing everyone's attention. "She wouldn't choose him if she didn't think he wasn't capable of securing the safety of the village."

"Well, if it's true Tsunade said that…"

"It is true," Sakura stated. "I swear it on her grave she wanted Naruto to become Hokage."

"Sasuke should be killed!" An angry voice shouted in the crowd.

"Yeah!"

"No!" Naruto yelled impulsively, placing Sasuke down on a boulder.

Both ninjas and villagers alike looked extremely shocked, and even outraged by Naruto's refusal. They waited silently to hear his explanation.

"We need to keep him alive so we can interrogate him," Naruto explained, making up the most logical response he could think of. "He may have connections with others that would want to harm Konoha."

Although most of the ninjas nodded in agreement, a few others, like Chouza, clearly weren't convinced. They decided that they would let it go, at least, for the moment.

"Where's Neji?" Hinata asked in a panicked tone. "I haven't seen him since he last chased after Sasuke into the forest."

"I don't know…" Naruto replied with a concerned frown. "Maybe we should look for him?"

"I highly doubt he'd lose his way through the forest," Lee said, shaking his head. "I don't want to seem pessimistic, but something could've happened to him."

"Well…" Naruto hesitated, wondering what Tsunade would do in his position. "I'll send out a team to go searching for him in the forest."

"I would like to go," Gai offered. "If it's all right with you, Naruto-sama."

"Sure," Naruto agreed. "I'll send out another team into the forest if you're not back in five days."

After discussing it with his group for a minute or two, Gai spoke up.

"We would like to leave immediately."

"All right. Good luck, Gai, Tenten, and Lee."

With a short, yet respectful nod, Gai and his team disappeared into the pitch black forest.

"So…" Naruto said with a sheepish smile. "Does anybody here know anything about architecture? We might as well get to work today."

"I may be able to provide some assistance with the rebuilding of the village." Yamato offered.

"Awesome. Anybody else?"A few more people volunteered, and promised to go to work as soon as possible.

"Let's have breakfast first." Chouji suggested, rubbing his hands together.

"Agreed," Naruto replied with a famished sigh. "Let's figure out the rebuilding issue once we've eaten."

To Naruto's relief, things began to settle down a bit more once everybody hunted for their food and gathered into small groups.

"Come sit with us," Sakura offered, waving her hand to catch Naruto's attention.

As Naruto was walking past the boulder he left Sasuke at, a hand shot out and grabbed his ankle.

"_You_…!" Sasuke growled, his onyx-colored eyes glaring daggers into Naruto's own cerulean ones.

Without warning, several dozen roots shot out from the ground and wrapped themselves around Sasuke's arms and legs. Yamato approached Naruto with a grim frown. He even had a root cover Sasuke's eyes, just in case he decided to use genjutsu against them.

"Thanks Yamato," Naruto said, still surprised that Sasuke had recovered so quickly. "I'll bring you some food, Sasuke."

"I don't want any of your filthy food!" Sasuke hissed.

"Fine," Naruto replied curtly, turning to Yamato. "Keep him restrained until I return with Sakura."

With a nod, Yamato followed his orders and kept Sasuke under a watchful eye. Naruto returned to Sakura's still occupied group with a grim frown.

"Sakura, can I speak with you in private?"

"Yes, of course."

The blonde and pink-haired nins exited the rowdy forest and entered the fringes of the rubble of Konoha. Taking a seat on the edge of a brick wall, Naruto kneaded his fingers together with a frustrated sigh.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked softly, resisting the temptation to physically comfort him.

"Sasuke woke up," He whispered through clenched teeth. "And he refuses to eat."

"Is there something you want me to do about it?"

"Well…yeah," He replied sheepishly. "You know how stubborn he is. Could you give him medicine or something?"

As much as he hated to admit it, he was a little worried about the raven-haired jerk. They were, after all, former friends and rivals. Although he desperately wanted to unconditionally hate Sasuke with all of his heart, there was a part of him that just couldn't do it. Of course, it didn't mean he would forgive Sasuke for what he had done.

_He can't be properly interrogated if he's starving, _A voice in his mind reasoned.

"I think I may be able to help you," She replied hesitantly. "But it depends on if I can find the correct medicine. Excuse me while I dig through the hospital."

Sakura disappeared without a trace, leaving Naruto behind with his confusing thoughts.

_It's like he can't survive like a normal person would, or at least _try _to, _He thought angrily. _Pushing away his friends like that…humph. I should be worrying about the village, not that heartless, cold -_

Sakura returned with her arms crossed and an apologetic frown on her face.

"Most of my medicine was destroyed," She reported. "Fortunately, the particular herb I need for Sasuke isn't located too far from here."

"Awesome," Naruto replied with a relieved grin. "Where is it? I could go get it right now."

"It grows right along the gates of Konoha," She explained. "It's a fairly small, green herb. It is also very smooth in texture."

"Thanks, Sakura-chan! Tell the others where I am while I'm gone!"

Swiftly trekking through the wreckage, it didn't take Naruto long to reach the gate. After searching carefully through the vegetation for a few minutes, he finally discovered the light green herb Sakura had requested. It was pretty difficult to find, and he could only find a couple of the leaves. Gently placing them into his pockets, Naruto hoped it was enough to serve its purpose.

"Naruto-san?" A quiet, yet familiar voice from behind questioned.

Whipping around with a kunai in his hand, Naruto was surprised to see Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou.

"Hey Gaara," Naruto greeted with a shaky sigh. "Kankurou, Temari. I'm sorry about that."

"No harm done," Kankurou replied. "At least you have good reason to be a little paranoid."

Seeing the puzzled look on Naruto's face, Gaara intervened.

"We know about the destruction of your village," He explained. "We came to offer our condolences, and our help not only as Suna, but as friends."

"Thank you for coming down here," Naruto said with a grateful smile. "Unfortunately, Tsunade-sama and our council elders passed away very recently."

"I am extremely sorry to hear this. Who is your new Hokage?"

"Me."

"Congratulations on your accomplishment of becoming Hokage, then."

"Thank you," Naruto said with a polite nod. "Would you three like to come with me back to our temporary village?"

"Would you mind if we rest first for a little while?" Temari asked while they approached closer to the forest.

"Of course not."

While Gaara, Kankurou, and Temari were busy creating a fire to prepare their meals with, Naruto returned to the village. While most of the people were busy talking amongst themselves, a few others approached Naruto.

"When will Tsunade, Danzou, Homura, and Koharu's funeral be held?"

"Oh…" Naruto had completely forgot to plan the date of their funeral! "It'll be in an hour or so."

"Do you have the herb?" Sakura appeared as the group left.

"Yes," Naruto replied, following her to where Sasuke was being held. "I hope it'll be enough."

He handed her the scarce leaves.

"It's more than enough," She reassured. "With the right mixture, it'll be enough to last Sasuke for a month and a half. This herb will be in season by then."

"You can let him see now," Naruto told Yamato.

With some hesitation, Yamato allowed the root covering Sasuke's eyes to retreat back into the ground.

Shyly avoiding his angry glare, Naruto averted his gaze to Sakura, who was grinding a mixture of leaves and a grey, unknown substance into a thick paste. After performing a few hand signs, the paste disappeared, and a milky-looking liquid replaced it. She took a nearby needle and slowly filled it up with the white liquid.

"Hold out your arm." Sakura requested.

Sasuke continued to glare at Naruto, seemingly oblivious to her altogether.

With the brief exchange of glances, Yamato made one of the roots curl tightly around Sasuke's left wrist. Sakura stepped towards him with an unusually emotionless expression.

Before she knew what was happening, the ground below her began to crumble into a rapidly growing pit. Dropping the needle in her hand, she made a run for it into the forest.

"Sakura!"

She gave a gasp of horror as she turned around to see Naruto hanging on the edges of the pit, his fingers starting to slip.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto fell into the pitch-black pit with a shocked "O" on his lips, just as she plunged her arm into the blackness. She let out a terrified scream as her extended arm burst into black flames. Tripping over her feet, she fell into the fiery pit of endless darkness, the flames licking up her arms and quickly enveloping her entire body.

Closing her eyes, she cursed Sasuke Uchiha with every fiber of her being. How dare he leave Konoha for all of these years, just to return and kill her mentor and her best friend? The excruciating pain soon lulled into a numb feeling which soothed her scorched skin.

_Is this what dying feels like?_

With much hesitation, Sakura opened her eyes to discover that she was still in the forest. Looking down at her arms, she was relieved to find them pale without a single blemish. Her gaze quickly turned from her arms to her surroundings. A large, sand coffin hung in the air, with a furious looking Sasuke in it. Gaara was nearby, his open hand threatening to close.

"Use the Sharingan once more, and I will kill you without a second thought," He threatened with his unusually cool, green glare. "Sakura-san, come here with the needle."

With a shaky sigh, she found the needle in the grass and shuffled timidly towards the sand coffin.

It slowly hovered down, and extended a few inches to cover the Uchiha's deadly glare. The sand surrounding his left arm creeped slowly back into Gaara's gourd, exposing the skin of his forearm and elbow. She placed the needle into the crook of his elbow, and placed the liquid into his bloodstream.

"What will the medicine do?" Naruto asked, standing near Yamato.

"It's a special mixture that will give him energy continuously for a month," She explained. "Basically, it's food. We won't have to do this again for a while, fortunately."

"Thank you, Gaara-san."

"It's not a problem," He replied. "To keep the rest of your village safe, I will create a secured prison to place Sasuke in."

A few minutes later, a relatively small, cavern-type of prison made entirely of sand was created in the middle of where they were. It had unusually skinny bars standing vertically at the mouth of the entrance.

"How will it keep Sasuke from escaping?" Sakura asked with a quizzical frown.

"This a unique kind of sand that will slowly feed on Sasuke's chakra," Gaara explained. "It won't harm him at all. It will merely stop him from using the Sharingan or any other of his deadly jutsus ever again."

After easily placing Sasuke into the cavern, Kakashi appeared from the bushes, with a crowd of villagers following behind.

"The funeral will begin as soon as you are ready, Naruto-sama."


	4. Chapter 4

The atmosphere quickly became somber, and the only sounds that could be heard were the soft sobs of the villagers as Kakashi, Yamato, Chouza, and Shikaku carried Tsunade's messily created coffin on their shoulders. Although Sakura was only a little teary eyed, it took most of her internal strength to not cry. She, instead, brought her focus to an upset Shizune, whom was sobbing uncontrollably on her shoulder. She tried her best to murmur words of comfort without breaking down herself.

Meanwhile, Naruto was walking with Hinata. Overcome with sorrow for the practical, yet always kind woman that now laid in the coffin in front of him, he kept his gaze low to the ground. All of his memories of Tsunade flooded through his mind, deepening his sorrow even further.

His shoulders stiffened involuntarily as Hinata placed a comforting hand on his arm. Trying to muster a small smile, he was surprised to find that her face was completely blurry. Wiping away the few unexpected tears, he once again averted his gaze to the ground.

"Tsunade would be pissed to know I'm wasting energy crying over her dead body, instead of thinking about the village's future."

"I don't think so," She replied quietly. "Grieving is completely natural, and Tsunade-sama wouldn't have wanted you to bottle up your emotions. You wouldn't be a very good leader if you were dishonest with yourself."

"Yeah, I guess so," He said with a genuine smile. "No, I mean, you are absolutely right, Hinata-chan."

Returning a shy smile of her own, they continued to shuffle towards the Hokage mountain.

There was a profound silence that laid heavily in the villagers' souls as they buried their beloved fifth Hokage. Although they all shared mixed feelings of anger, sorrow, and fear, an unbreakable sense of unity burned brightly in their weary souls. Even the smallest child in the village could understand the sense of community they all now felt at that moment. This wasn't just the end of their village, loved ones, and hopes, but rather the inevitable, yet always surprising beginning of a new day.

After Tsunade was buried into the mountain, the villagers proceeded to bury the council elders and Danzou. The burial only took a little longer than hers did.

Unfortunately, they had to keep the memorials for their dead leaders quite brief, since they had to start rebuilding the village as soon as possible. If the village of Suna already knew about Konoha's destruction, it would only be too easy to imagine nearby foes taking advantage of their lack of proper protection.

Naruto soon became overwhelmed by the sheer amount of demands being thrown at him by the impatient villagers. A few complained about their food allergies, while some were in the middle of a dispute, and others wanted to discuss their personal plans of how the village should be rebuilt. Just as the dispute turned into a brawl, Gaara intervened in time to hold the guilty villagers down with his sand.

"Pardon my intrusion," He said apologetically. "But you look like you are in need of some assistance."

With Gaara's eternal patience and Naruto's willingness to work, they were able to discuss through the villagers' each and every problems. Once they convinced the villagers, who were fighting earlier, to instead negotiate peacefully with one another, things began to quiet down a bit.

"This is only the beginning," Gaara stated with a slight hint of a smile. "Things will only get more difficult when you are forced to deal with other leaders."

"Let me stress over the rebuilding of my village before I can get to the politics." The other replied, half-joking and half-serious.

For the rest of the afternoon, the villagers and the Sand siblings cleaned up the massive amounts of rubble left in the village. Because of the extra helping hands, the villagers had cleared out more than half of the wreckage. While most of the villagers were busy with this, a few extra ninjas were assigned as guards.

Finally finding a moment of peace and silence, Naruto took this time to visit Hinata at the gate.

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

"Hello, Hinata-chan."

Seeing the two converse with one another, Sai and a couple of other ninjas backed away to give them privacy.

Blushing furiously, the two nervously looked away from each other's gazes.

A little embarrassed, Naruto studied the sunset before him. He had to admit, it was kind of pretty how the blues, purples, yellows, and reds all piled on one another. No wonder Sai was always busy painting the sky in that book of his…

"I hope Neji is okay, wherever he is right now," Hinata whispered in a low voice. "Gai, Lee, and Tenten too."

"They'll be back in no time," He promised with a wide grin. "Even if I have to drag them back here with my bare hands."

"I really appreciate your concern, Naruto-kun."

Suddenly, the two were closer than they had ever been with one another. Not just physically, but emotionally, too. The way she gently brushed back her long, soft hair, the way her pale eyes brightened up considerably whenever she spoke with him…it only seemed natural that Naruto wanted to kiss her. As he was about to lean in a little closer, there was a low chuckle behind him.

"We're here to relieve you from your post," Kakashi announced, lazily jerking his thumb towards the small team of ninjas behind his shoulder.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san." Sai said, he and the others getting up from their sitting positions and leaving.

"I-I'll see you around, Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered a goodbye, quickly disappearing into the forest.

Giving Kakashi a glare that came close to rivaling Gaara's, Kakashi merely beamed under his mask.

"You know, you should spend a little more time tending to the village's needs, and a little less seducing poor Hinata, Naruto-_sama_."

Wondering how steep the fall would be from there if Naruto "accidentally" pushed Kakashi off of the gate, he instead chose to be the more mature of the two. As Naruto was about to leave, Kakashi whispered, "She's already tamed you, yet you two haven't even kissed yet."

"YOU ARE ASKING FOR IT, YOU GREY-HAIRED-"

Both Iruka and Raidou had to pin Naruto down before he could get his hands around his former mentor's throat.

"I'm just here to lighten up the mood," Kakashi justified. "It was getting just a little _too _sappy for my tastes."

"Whatever," Naruto grumbled, deciding it best to travel back to the forest before dark.

Already, the majority of the villagers were beginning to trust him. He didn't want to leave the village for too long.

Muttering curses under his breath, Naruto ran swiftly through the clearing to reach the darkening forest. To his surprise, he found a shortcut through the woods he had never noticed before. As he inched closer and closer to the village, he heard a low groan from somewhere nearby.

Curious, Naruto stepped away from the tree houses and towards the groaning.

"I'm so sorry, Itachi…"

Naruto's eyed widened in surprise; it was Sasuke sleep talking, curled up on his side in the sandy prison.

"I was too late…"

_He must be having nightmares_, Naruto thought, allowing himself to pity the raven just a _little _bit. _I didn't know he spoke in his sleep. He never did on our missions when we were genins._

"Naruto…"

Naruto froze, thinking that Sasuke had caught him spying on him in his sleep.

"…stupid dobe…"

Naruto relaxed as Sasuke rolled on his back, continuing to sleep fitfully. The moonlight filtered brightly through the leaves, and a sliver of its light rested upon Sasuke's pale face. Although there was a small frown on his face, he still looked quite peaceful in his sleep. There was an almost childlike vulnerability in his movements. It was the first time Naruto had ever seen Sasuke stripped of the cold, emotionless mask he usually wore.

"I'm sorry…" Sasuke mumbled quietly. "Naruto…"

Completely dumbstruck by Sasuke's unexpected apology, Naruto took the time to recollect his thoughts.

_What the hell? Why is he apologizing to me, even in his sleep?_

Taking one more glance at the sleeping Uchiha, Naruto left.

As he tried to ignore the questions piling up in his mind, he accidentally ran into Sakura.

"Oomph!" She squealed, dizzyingly pushing the blonde away from her.

"Sorry," He apologized, returning to reality. "I didn't see you there."

"It's…m'kay," She mumbled tiredly, heading towards a tree with a wobble.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?"

"Gotta heal 'em…"

Studying her face, he saw that she had bags under her eyes.

"You need to go and sleep," He lightly grabbed her shoulders. "Come on, let's go."

By the time they reached the tree houses, Sakura had fallen asleep, and landed in Naruto's arms.

_There must be a ton of sick villagers under her care…maybe I should check on them, just in case._

After going up the steps of an empty tree house and placing her on the cot, he left to search for her patients. It didn't take him long to discover the clusters of occupied cots.

All of the patients were sleeping, and they didn't appear to need any immediate medical help. With a relieved sigh, he left to nearly run into Sai.

"Night,"

"Good night."

Feeling exhausted himself, Naruto found his tree house and flopped onto the cot, still fully clothed.

As he stretched his hands comfortably under his head, he thought about his near kiss with Hinata, but more importantly, his encounter with Sasuke.

_So, it looks like he does have emotions other than hate, after all. Weird._

He tried to conjure the look in his mind he had of Sasuke sleeping. He looked so peaceful…no wonder his fan girls went crazy over his looks.

Shooting up to a sitting position, Naruto self-consciously ran a hand through his hair.

_Where did _that _thought come from? _He wondered with a fierce blush.

Feeling a mixture of disgust and insecurity, he rolled to his side.

As much as he wanted to force Sasuke out of his mind, he simply _couldn't_. Why did he feel sorry? Why was he _still_ bent on revenge, after spending all of that time getting revenge on his innocent brother?

He gave a _humph_, and rolled to his other side. Figuring out Sasuke was like peeling an onion; all you could find were layers after layers. With an annoyed sigh, he instead focused on the chorus of crickets chirping outside of the tree, creating a soothing melody that lulled him into a much needed sleep.

_Stupid teme_…


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning was as hectic as yesterday was. Fortunately for Naruto, he had Gaara give him more tips on how to cater to the village's needs.

Naruto was almost a little _too_ anxious to speak with Hinata again, but managed to stay patient for most of the day.

At lunch, he and Hinata talked a little more about what they were up to.

"What is it like being Hokage?" Hinata asked, curious. "It must have been kind of nice to have achieved your life long goal."

"It's a lot more stressful than I expected it to be," Naruto admitted with a sheepish grin. "I'm still in shock over the entire thing."

"W-well…"

With the slight, quizzical tilt of his head, he waited for Hinata's response.

"I-I think you are doing a wonderful job, so far."

"I really appreciate hearing that from you," He surprised them both by giving her a quick hug. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

His eyes widened in surprise as her face turned to a deadly shade of maroon in two seconds flat. Wobbling precariously over the edge of the gate, Naruto had to grab her by the shoulders to keep her planted to the wall.

Having Naruto touch her once more only seemed to make things worse. As her eyes rolled to the back of her head, Kiba appeared out of nowhere to catch her now limp body.

"She'll be okay," Kiba promised, gently placing her unconscious form on Akamaru's back. "You may want to return later, though. Things will only get worse if you stick around."

"All right," Naruto replied, still looking extremely worried.

With a slight whimper, Akamaru gave Naruto's foot a reassuring lick and headed towards the nearest river.

_What did I do?_ He wondered, self-consciously scratching the back of his head.

"Naruto-sama," Sai appeared, out of breath. "We need your help clearing out the rubble."

Feeling guilty for abandoning the village for so long, Naruto followed Sai back to Konoha. His guilt weighed heavily on his chest as he observed the overall progress of the villagers. Both villagers and ninjas alike were absolutely exhausted; sweat stained the fronts of their shirts, and even a few of them were wobbling unsteadily on their feet.

"To all of those whom have been busy working here, please take a break," Naruto stated, his guilt only growing worse. "Don't come back until tomorrow morning, and that's an order."

With shocked expressions, most of them shuffled wearily towards the forest.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I'll be fine," Naruto reassured. "Go and get some rest. I already feel bad enough for not helping out as much as I should've."

Although Naruto felt obligated to clear out most of the rubble, he was also relieved to be working by himself. He wanted some alone time so he could ponder on a few certain subjects in peace.

Now that he thought about it, he had been awfully busy thinking over things ever since last night.

Were his thoughts a little _too_ focused on a certain raven-haired missing-nin?

Possibly.

But even Naruto was too stubborn to admit this to himself.

Trying to dispel the Uchiha from his mind, he busied himself with clearing up what was left of the wreckage that was once Konoha. For the rest of the afternoon, he dedicated himself to finding new, and more efficient ways to do the job. It was only when the light had completely disappeared from the sky that he stopped working.

Once again exhausted by the day's exertion, Naruto took his time to travel through the forest. Slipping in and out of consciousness, his feet led him to a very unlikely place.

Shocked, he rubbed his eyes with a little more force than what was necessary.

Why was he standing right outside of Sasuke's sand prison?

"I didn't mean to let you down, Kakashi…" The raven mumbled in his sleep.

_He's still having nightmares? Well, maybe if I stick around, he'll let some important information loose._

Resting comfortably at the base of a nearby tree, Naruto listened closely to Sasuke's mumbles.

"Didn't have to die, Itachi…"

Despite his original intentions, he continued to stay, even though Sasuke hadn't exactly told him anything useful to the village. It was almost comforting, in a way, to be able to hear the boy's voice again after so long.

Before long, Naruto began to nod off to a very light sleep.

"Naruto…"

"Yeah?" Naruto mumbled loudly, unaware that he was answering Sasuke.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

"Heh, we're both sorry."

"Whatever, you jerk. I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry."

"Night…"

* * *

To Sasuke, life was a living hell ever since he was placed into the virtually inescapable prison.

But why?

It was official. He had gotten his revenge on Konoha. He killed Tsunade and the village's council members.

So why did he still harbor strong feelings of guilt and anger? Why were these destructive emotions continuing to break down his heart into nothing?

In his mind, he had avenged his older brother, Itachi, but in his heart, things hadn't changed a single bit.

What if the blonde dobe was right? What if revenge _wasn't _the way to go?

No.

He couldn't be right. He didn't go through what Sasuke had to go through. He didn't waste years of his life hating a loved one for all of the wrong reasons, just to kill that person.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Naruto was a mere babbling pacifist.

Yes, Naruto had friends, but never family members. His family never had to die for the sake of a cruel village.

_Even so, _A small voice in his mind intervened. _He may be right. There still could be more to life than power and killing._

_Of course the idiot would try to put nonsensical ideas such as peace in your head, _Another voice argued. _He's the Hokage of Konoha! He just wants to control over you, you, who has the power to revive the Uchiha clan. Once you're on his side, he will kill you!_

_Naruto does not represent the old Konoha._

_What reasons could you possible think of lead you to believe you could trust him?_

_Think, Sasuke. Has revenge brought you any happiness whatsoever?_

_Those supposed 'peace' loving fools forced Itachi to slaughter your family!_

_Why did Itachi save you, then? Did he want to you to waste it by destroying an entire village?_

_They haven't paid yet! Naruto is a beacon of hope for Konoha. Kill him!_

_Itachi wanted you to break this maddening cycle of never-ending hatred!_

No matter how long he examined the issue, he could never come to a clear conclusion. He instead, tried to think of a way to escape. The longer he stayed there, the sooner he would go completely mad.

Unfortunately, all of his jutsus would be rendered useless as long as he was stuck in Gaara's prison. He would shiver in the daytime as he felt the slow draining of his chakra seep into the sand. In the nighttime, he would have nightmares about Madara, Itachi, his murdered family, and his once beloved friends.

Before long, Sasuke was convinced there was nothing else he could do. He even contemplated suicide, but gave a dry chuckle at the thought of it. What did he have to harm himself with?

_I could ask someone that hates me enough to do it, _He thought. _But the problem is, none of the villagers ever walk past by here!_

Ever since Gaara's visit, he was completely abandoned. The only thing he could do now was to suffer in silence.

Shortly after falling asleep, his memories of Team 7 returned to haunt his mind that night. As his dream progressed, he noticed something new and strange that never occurred in his sleep before.

While he was apologizing to his former comrades, Naruto replied back!

He too apologized, then called him a jerk for not letting him sleep.

Sasuke let out a half strangled giggle at the way his dream was unfolding. Here he was, apologizing to his former best friend, while Naruto was complaining!

Even as Sasuke's life officially hit rock bottom, he could always rely on Naruto to be the obnoxious brat he was.


	6. Chapter 6

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice questioned.

Naruto, still half-asleep, gave an annoyed groan and shifted to his side.

"Wake up," She instructed patiently while gently shaking his shoulders. "You can't slack off. You're the Hokage."

"No, thanks." He grumbled, nuzzling his face into the bark.

"Get up," She repeated, her tone still patient. "Why were you sleeping here in the first place?"

Sakura's attempts to awake Naruto were wasted, for he had already fallen back to sleep.

With the crack of her knuckles, she decided to switch tactics.

"WAKE UP, YOU IDIOT!" She screamed, roughly shaking his shoulders. "Don't force me to go get Kakashi!"

Springing to his feet at the mention of Kakashi, Naruto nervously observed his surroundings for any signs of the grey-haired menace.

"All right, all right," He mumbled, wearily rubbing his eyes. "I'm up."

"God, Sakura, you never changed."

Whipping around to meet Sasuke's annoyed glare, Naruto and Sakura nearly forgot that Sasuke was there.

"Neither have you," She replied coldly with her arms crossed.

"You, however," Sasuke turned his glare to the blonde nin. "Naruto, you have changed. You've gotten stronger."

"You probably think I just abandoned you here for the fun of it," Naruto replied, his gaze unusually cold. "One way or another, I'll have you interrogated for the safety of Konoha."

"Try me," The raven hissed. "You'll never get me to talk."

Ignoring Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura left to return to the tree houses.

Resisting the urge to ask Naruto why he had been sleeping back there, she decided it would be best to not question him about it. If they were going to face Sasuke again, she wanted to form a sort of united team with Naruto. Whatever happened back there was none of her business, at least, that was what she figured.

"Did I miss anything?"

"No, but I was worried, since I didn't know where you were."

"I'm sorry about that. I guess I should let people know where I am, right?"

"I would if I were you. After all, you are our current Hokage."

With a thankful nod and a quick goodbye, Naruto ventured off to hunt down his breakfast.

Later on that day, Gaara spoke with Naruto in private to tell him he had to leave soon.

"I can't even begin to tell you how much my village and I appreciate Suna's help."

"It's no trouble at all. Please feel free to contact us if you ever require our assistance again."

"Of course, and thanks again."

After Gaara, Kankurou, and Temari bid their last farewells, they replenished their rations and left the village of Konoha.

"The Sand siblings are good people." Naruto commented to himself with a serious expression.

For the next few days, the village was quickly being rebuilt back to its former glory. Since the rubble was officially cleared out, this made transporting materials go along much more smoothly. Naruto had become so occupied with the reconstruction of Konoha that he had completely forgotten about Neji, and Gai's team.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata began. "You know how you were going to send out a second search team for Neji, if Gai's team hadn't returned in five days?"

"Yes."

"It's been five days," She hesitated. "And I would like to be a part of the second search team."

"Oh…" Naruto was a little disappointed by this. "Of course you can go. Who else would you like to come with you?"

"Kiba and Shino."

With an understanding smile, he allowed the three to leave that afternoon.

"Good luck, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba."

"Thanks, we'll see ya soon."

"Goodbye."

"Bye, Naruto-kun."

Watching them disappear into the deep bowels of the forest, Naruto stood there for a little while longer. He desperately hoped with every fiber of his being that he would be able to watch the sun set with Hinata again in the near future. He hoped Neji, Gai, Tenten, Lee, Kiba, and Shino would also return safely.

_Crap, I can't afford to let any more ninjas leave the village._

Since Neji and Gai's team hadn't returned yet, it was Naruto's responsibility as Hokage to prepare for the worst case scenario. He decided it would be a good idea to prepare the villagers first thing the following morning.

For now, all he could do was reserve his energy and get some sleep. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't been getting much sleep lately. He had made it a regular habit to observe Sasuke in his sleep. He simply couldn't get over how _innocent _Sasuke looked in his sleep.

Hearing what surely must be Sasuke's inner thoughts made Naruto feel like he was getting to know the _real _Sasuke Uchiha. Call him a creep, but he liked to hear Sasuke talk in his sleep. It made him look forward to nighttime, when he could learn about the person Sasuke really was.

What he learned about Sasuke, in a way, didn't surprise him too much. Sasuke really missed Itachi; he would always mention him at least twice a night. He regretted going to Orochimaru for power. Most of all, he regretted becoming blind with hate to end up killing his older brother.

What _did_ surprise Naruto was that Sasuke was sorry for what he had done to him. He never specified what he was apologizing for, but it still pleased Naruto, to say the least.

Deep in his heart, he knew there was still hope for the guilty Uchiha. Naruto had heard enough to be sure of this.

A small smile formed on the edges of his lips as he returned to Sasuke's prison. Now the next step would be for Sasuke to convince the rest of the village that he could become a part of Konoha again. He was absolutely convinced himself that Jiraiya would've wanted him to do this; how else would Naruto achieve world peace? If he was to fulfill such a difficult task, then he would have to take a path different than the one Konoha's forefathers had followed in the past.

Laying at his usual spot, he stretched his arms out to rest his hands under his head. It wouldn't be long before Sasuke's soft mumbles could be heard throughout the entire clearing.

At least ten minutes had passed by, yet the forest continued to stay eerily silent.

_Maybe I should go back to the village tonight…_

"I know you're here, you stupid dobe." Sasuke hissed angrily.

Almost letting out a yelp of surprise, Naruto jumped to his feet at the unexpected anger in Sasuke's voice.

_Oh my God, he knows!_

"What the hell have you been doing here for the past few nights?" The raven demanded. "How long have you been doing this for?"

"I'm just guarding the village from _you_."

"I know you're lying to me."

"I'm telling you the truth."

"Then how come _you _are my guard? Wouldn't someone more expendable have the job?!"

"Shut up, Sasuke! You're going to wake up the entire village!"

"I can yell as much as I want to! Now tell me the truth!"

"I _am _telling you the truth."

"Christ, Uzumaki, you are incredibly annoying."

"At least _I'm _honest with my feelings."

"What the hell is _that _supposed to mean?"

"If you're going to apologize to me, then at least do it while you're awake!"

_Crap!_ Naruto thought, gritting his teeth together. _I've said too much._

"What-_have you been watching me in my sleep?_"

Silence.

"Are you some kind of stalker, Naruto?"

More silence.

"You have some serious issues."

"_You _think _I'm _the one that has serious issues? I know you regret going to Orochimaru all of those years ago. So why are you still bent on revenge?"

"Your precious _village _wiped out _my _clan!"

"Yeah, well what the hell are you going to do with your life now? The council elders are dead now."

"It's not enough! I want Konoha to suffer. They won't suffer until _you _die. The villagers look up to you!"

"How do you plan on killing me? What are you going to do after that?"

"I will revive my clan and take over this pathetic village!"

"_Humph_," Naruto huffed, crossing his arms together. "I'd be surprised if you had any emotions left to even revive your clan. What woman would take you?"

"I hate you, Naruto! I wish I killed you before I left Konoha!"

Stung by this, Naruto yelled, "I hate you too! God, I can't believe how _blind _you are by your own unhappiness. You may think revenge is the only answer, but it's _not!_"

"You haven't gone through what I've gone through."

Reaching through the bars and grabbing a fistful of Sasuke's outfit, Naruto pulled the raven to face him eye to eye.

"You are not the only person on this planet that has lost loved ones," The blonde said in a deadly low growl. "Right now, I am really sick of your woe-poor-little-me attitude. Itachi was an idiot for saving you."

Completely dumbstruck by this, Sasuke didn't know how to react. His entire body trembled with anger, and his fingers were itching to crush the blonde's throat. Forget taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and the more elaborate ways to kill a human being. At that moment, he wouldn't hesitate to kill Naruto with his bare hands.

Feeling a blanket of chakra-sucking sand wrap itself around him, all Sasuke could physically do now was glare spitefully into Naruto's angry, cerulean gaze.

Without even saying anything else, Naruto stomped furiously through the forest. He didn't even bother to make an attempt to be a little more silent as he neared closer to the tree houses.

For a split second back there, he honestly believed he was going to kill the raven right then and there. He had never been as angry with Sasuke as he ever had with another person in the past. He couldn't even _begin _to express how moronic he thought Sasuke was.

_What did I even see in Sasuke in the first place? I'm so dumb for believing that it was possible for him to change. He will always be the arrogant jerk he is for the rest of his natural born life, and probably the after life, too._

Entering his personal tree house, he didn't bother to close the door behind him. Sitting next to his cot with his arms wrapped around his knees, Naruto allowed the hot, angry tears to roll down his face. He let out a small, squeaky sob as he thought about his earlier argument with Sasuke.

_I meant every word I said back there. Poor Itachi, I'm sure he didn't want this for his younger brother. If only Sasuke realized this…_

A mixture of hurt, anger, sorrow, shock, and frustration whirled through the blonde ninja's head, meshing into something chaotic that prevented him from being able to fall asleep.

Just as the sun was beginning to peek through his window, Naruto fell into a light sleep.

Itachi's shadowy form appeared from the darkness, wearing an expression full of eternal patience.

_"Please do not give up on my younger brother, yet. You, Naruto, are the only one whom possesses the key to Sasuke's heart."_


	7. Chapter 7

**If I messed up with any of the details (OOCness, plot) please inform me of this in a review or pm. Otherwise, enjoy ^-^**

* * *

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, her voice strained with worry at the blonde's appearance.

She had found him sleeping in a very awkward, curled position in the corner of his already cramped room. He looked like-for the lack of a better term-crap. His hair had plastered itself to the left side of his face, and his open, bloodshot eyed stared off dully into space.

Waving a hand across his immediate line of vision, his glazed over eyes didn't even move a single centimeter.

_What on earth could've happened to make him like this?_

Hoping he just had a fever, she lightly placed her hand on his forehead. As soon as her hand made contact with his skin, he flinched.

"What happened?" She asked, pulling away her hand. "You don't have a fever."

"Nothing happened," He lied with a weak smile. "I was so exhausted last night that I forgot to sleep in my cot."

"Naruto, what happened to you?" She asked again, her eyes filling up with tears. "Why won't you tell me what happened?"

"I told you already, Sakura-chan," He explained patiently. "Nothing happened."

It absolutely broke her heart to see him like this. His smiling and fake cheeriness only made things worse. She had never, _ever_, seen him this dejected before. Even when tragedies occurred, he would always promise to make things better with a brave face. This new, somber Naruto frightened her.

"Naruto-sama," Sai reported, standing at the base of the tree. "A couple of Kumo ninjas are waiting outside of the gate, and they've requested for your presence."

Before Sakura had time to question Naruto further, the blonde nin had already passed by in a blur. Watching Sai and Naruto leave together, she gave a frustrated sigh.

_I'll bug him as soon as he returns, _she promised herself. _It's not good for him to be sulking like this, especially with Hinata being gone…_

Naruto's already jumbled thoughts only multiplied as he followed Sai. The small headache he had sported early that morning quickly transformed into a relentless pounding that threatened to split his skull in half. Although his thoughts were being occupied by his anger towards Sasuke, his memories of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and his father kept popping up.

_Forget about that idiot and concentrate on your duty as Hokage to protect your village! _One voice scolded.

_The voice is right! _Naruto thought, now angry at himself. _Now I have to go see what Kumo wants._

As he and Sai approached the gates, the three Kumo ninjas stared at Naruto in anger and confusion.

"Where is Tsunade?"

"Who are you?"

"We want to speak with the _Hokage_."

"I am the sixth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto explained with a solemn frown. "Tsunade passed away not too long ago. What is your business here in Konoha?"

"Our leader, the Raikage, demands to speak with you at once," One ninja replied. "He also demands that you travel to the village of Kumo, for he will not speak with you anywhere else."

"All right," Naruto agreed with some hesitation. "Am I allowed to bring a couple of ninjas with me?"

After turning her back to him and discussing it quietly among her teammates, she turned her distrustful gaze back to Naruto.

"You may bring only one ninja with you."

Excusing himself from the conversation, Naruto took his time to consider his options. He had already decided to go to Kumo; the last thing Konoha needed were new enemies, especially under its current condition. Now he had to decide who he would bring with him.

_Sakura? No, she's too important…Shino? No, he's gone…_

"Who do you think I should bring with me?" He asked Sai in a whisper.

"I personally believe that Kakashi would be a good choice," Sai replied. "Of course, I think you could choose pretty much any one you please."

"Bring him to me," The blonde nin requested. "Thanks for the suggestion."

"Oh, and another thing," The ninja from before piped up. "Because of security reasons, you and whomever you bring must wear these blind folds."

She presented him two long, black blind folds of relatively equal sizes. Peering closely at them, he noticed that one was bulkier than the other.

"Why is the one on the left different from the one on the right?"

"We brought this one just in case you chose to bring Kakashi Hatake with you." She explained, her eyes narrowing.

"The Raikage wants to see me pretty badly, then?" He joked, keeping a polite smile.

"It is of the utmost importance."

Before the tension in the air could thicken any longer, Sai arrived with a wary Kakashi.

Trusting that Sai had informed Kakashi of the situation, Naruto wordlessly handed his former mentor a blindfold.

"How will we be able to travel with these blindfolds on?" Naruto asked with a skeptic frown.

"You will not have to wear them until you are closer to our village."

"Sai," Naruto turned to the black-haired ninja. "You will be in charge of the village until I return."

"Yes, Naruto-sama."

As Samui's team turned their backs to the gate and embarked on their journey, Naruto allowed himself one last glance at Konoha.

_Please keep my beloved village safe, Sai._

"Let's go." Kakashi said, pulling him from his reverie.

The beginning of their journey to Kumo started off, thankfully, much more smoothly than Naruto had anticipated it to go. None of the ninjas, Kumo and Konoha alike, dared to disturb the silence that separated them quite comfortably from each other. Unfortunately for Naruto, this only gave him more time to ponder on his last argument with Sasuke.

Although many hurtful words were exchanged between the two of them, Naruto still felt pity for the raven. He knew that behind Sasuke's mask of anger and coolness, he was still hurting on the inside.

_If he wasn't such an indifferent jerk, _Naruto thought in frustration. _We could be friends again._

His mind cringed in guilt as an image of Tsunade's mangled body appeared before his eyes.

_You should be ashamed of yourself_, a voice growled. _Wanting to become friends with that missing-nin again, shortly after he killed Tsunade!_

_But that's just it_, Naruto argued back. _He's not just a missing-nin. He's an old friend._

_Or maybe something more?_

_I…_

As much as he wanted to deny his feelings for Sasuke, he finally ran out of excuses to argue back with. Even so, this didn't stop him from feeling angry and guilty about the entire situation.

_Why does life have to be so complicated?_

An odd mixture of his memories of Sasuke, Jiraiya, and Tsunade plagued his dreams that night. At first, it started with Jiraiya telling Naruto his dreams of achieving world peace. As a calmness welled up in Naruto's chest, the vision abruptly warped into Sasuke, sleeping in the moonlight. Naruto's arm reached through the sandy bars when the prison melted into Tsunade's limp body. Her glassy eyes stared accusingly at him with a small frown on her pale face.

"_You let Sasuke do this to me…"_

Naruto woke up with a start, accidentally knocking over a couple of nearby canteens. The canteens, full to the brim with water, toppled over into the dusty ground. With a disgruntled sigh, Karui grabbed the canteens and shoved them into Naruto's empty arms.

"You knocked over the canteens, so you get to fill them up again," She stated. "The nearest river is three miles over in that direction."

After putting on his sandals, he grabbed the five canteens and followed the direction Karui's finger was pointing at.

_Jeez, what is her problem? I don't see why she's in such a hurry…_

By the time Naruto returned with the full canteens of water, the Kumo ninjas were already finished packing up their make-shift camp.

"I have the water." Naruto announced, handing out each of the canteens.

"Here's breakfast." Kakashi threw an apple towards Naruto, which he caught with one hand.

"Thanks."

Although they were on the trail in under five minutes, Omoi and his teammates quietly complained amongst each other about their slow timing.

"I wonder why they're so impatient," Naruto whispered to Kakashi. "And they seem unprepared for this journey."

"The Raikage must have something extremely important to inform us of."

"Maybe the Akatsuki is up to something new…"

Leaving Kakashi to his thoughts, Naruto concentrated on the walk before them. He wasn't sure exactly what to expect out of the Raikage. He just hoped that he wouldn't be declaring war on Konoha or anything like that. The sky overhead was just beginning to darken, when the Kumo ninjas stopped Naruto and Kakashi in their tracks.

"Now it's time for you to put on the blindfolds before we continue any further."

Naruto flashed the grey-haired ninja one last wary glance before pulling his blindfold from his pocket.

After the two Konoha ninjas tied the blindfolds over their eyes, the Kumo ninjas made sure that they were secure. Feeling their hands on their shoulders, they carefully followed the direction the Kumo ninjas were guiding them to. In a few moments, they heard the snorts and shuffles of that they assumed to be a cart being pulled by some large animal.

Naruto gave a small chuckle as they were being placed into the cart.

_Out of all the times to have doubts about this…I may just be Konoha's most reckless Hokage._

After what seemed like an eternity, the animal's hooves ceased to move and the cart came to a jerky stop. A quiet groan escaped Naruto's lips at the sudden stop; he had been lulled off to a light doze by the rhythmic _clop-clop-clop _of the animal's hooves.

_Crap, how long have I been sleeping for?_

"We're nearly there," Samui's voice called from nearby. "Get out."

"I'll go first." Kakashi whispered.

Before Naruto could protest, he felt they grey-haired nin's weight against him disappear. Feeling an arm prod through the cart, Naruto was instructed to take a hold of it. Taking the hand, he was brought to his feet.

They were once again led to an unknown location by the guiding hands on their shoulders. A door was shut behind them and the strong scent of mold and dampness hit their nostrils.

"You are now allowed to take off your blindfolds."

Untying the bulky knot of his blindfold, Naruto observed his surroundings, which wasn't much. There was a single, dusty light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and under it were two wooden chairs, and last but not least, the long-awaited presence of the Raikage.

"Welcome, Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake," He said with a strained smile. He motioned towards the empty chairs with an impatient wave of his hand. "Take a seat."

"As I can only imagine too well, we are busy men with not too much time on our hands," The Raikage explained. "So I will try my best to keep this fairly short. Where is Sasuke Uchiha?"

Caught completely off-guard by the unexpected question, Naruto opened his mouth and quickly shut it. Not knowing how he should respond, he stayed silent.

"My brother, whom is also the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki, was kidnapped by the Akatsuki," He informed with a tight-lipped frown. "I've recently heard a couple of rumors that say Sasuke is currently being held in your village."

"What?" Naruto finally spoke up.

"I am not asking for much," The Raikage said. "You will be transported back to Konoha once you answer this simple question. Where is Sasuke Uchiha?"

"I don't know," The blonde ninja lied. "He entered the village, killed Tsunade-sama, and we chased him out of Konoha."

_Why aren't you handing him over?_ An aggressive voice questioned. _One missing-nin over an entire village?_

_No, there has to be another way! _Naruto argued back. _There's always another way!_

"I'm afraid I cannot accept your pitiful explanation," He shook his head mournfully. "He knows where my brother is, and I'm sure that one missing-nin isn't worth what's left of Konoha."

A ninja appeared from behind and stuck a needle into Naruto's neck. He gave a cry of outrage as the ninja secured him to the chair.

"Kakashi!"

The grey-haired man had bolted from his chair and lunged towards the door. Karui and Omoi appeared out of nowhere and slammed Kakashi into the concrete floor.

"It's truth serum," The Raikage explained patiently, his calm gaze locked into Naruto's. "Now I will get the answers I want from you. Where is Sasuke?"

"In-" Naruto tried to bite down on his tongue, but the ninja behind him knocked him upside the head. "Konoha."

"Is my brother with him?"

"No."

"Do you know where my brother is?"

"No."

"Where are you specifically hiding Sasuke?"

"He's in a-"

An explosion blew a ten foot hole in the wall, and the dust billowed throughout the room, entering Naruto's eyes and throat, and suffocating him.

Naruto heard the ninja securing him let out a cry of pain as a snarling dog bit their neck. Whipping around in his chair, he saw that it was Pakkun attacking the surprised Kumo ninja.

"Naruto!" Chouza's arm appeared from the thick dust and yanked Naruto's shirt collar.

Stumbling from the chair, he stole a glimpse of Kakashi throwing a punch towards the Raikage's direction.

"Let me fight!" Naruto yelled, struggling against Chouza's unbreakable grip.

Ignoring Naruto's protests, the larger man ran blindly through the lingering dust and out of the room. They entered an extremely dim, underground hallway. Naruto was shocked to find at least a few dozen doors leading down the dark hallway.

"Where-"

Naruto was cut off by the enraged screams of Samui, whom was running towards Chouza with a furious glare. Chouza ran swiftly down the hallway, and Naruto let out a cry of pain as a sword slid through Chouza's chest and into Naruto's abdomen.

"Guh…" Naruto coughed up blood, feeling his vision going hazy.

"Naruto! Chouza!" Shikamaru yelled, running towards the injured ninjas.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto managed to whisper, his vision steadily growing worse. "You're supposed to be with Kurenai."

"We need to-"

Suddenly, Naruto's hearing completely shut down, and Shikamaru's furrowed brow was the last thing he saw before passing out.


	8. Chapter 8

For the first time in weeks, Naruto had a good night's rest. Surprisingly, he felt pretty good for someone who was stabbed in the gut. Although a voice occasionally penetrated through the hazy darkness, he continued to ignore it.

Making it his mission to yell at this annoying voice to shut up, he tried to open his heavy eyelids. Failing at this, he attempted to utter, "Shut the hell up!"

All that came out of his mouth was an incoherent jumble of consonants and vowels.

"The drugs will wear off in a few minutes, Naruto-kun."

Naruto grumpily viewed the darkness grow lighter and lighter by the passing minute. Eventually, he was able to open his eyes and see the fuzzy outlines of a pink blob that was Sakura's hair.

"You've been sleeping for the past couple of hours." She whispered with an apologetic frown.

"What the-" Naruto slurred, finally gaining the use of his tongue. "Why did you wake me up?"

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," She apologized, shaking her head. "But I had to wake you up. The village demands to know how you're going to deal with Kumo, and they're starting to get pretty raucous."

_Oh! Kumo!_

The memories of his rather unpleasant meeting with the Raikage flooded through his mind, successfully piercing through is heavily drugged thoughts. He winced at the image of the sword going straight through Chouza's back, its tip ending at Naruto's stomach.

_Crap, what am I going to say to the rest of Konoha?_

Although a hot surge of hate pulsed through his limbs, he struggled to think clearly about the situation presented before him. The Raikage of Kumo attacked him and his ninjas over the disappearance of his brother. He wanted Sasuke, and sooner or later, probably wanted him dead.

_Start a war against those fools!_ One voice shouted angrily. _Nobody should be able to attack the Hokage of Konoha and get away with it!_

_Are you dumb or something?_ Another voice argued. _Seven ninjas are missing from the village right now! You can't afford to lose anyone else!_

_So that's why you should be getting ready for war! Anyway, you have Suna on your side._

_Still…maybe you should find the Raikage's brother first._

Naruto's thoughts immediately turned to the raven currently located in a prison not too far away. Forgetting the fact that he was injured, he shot up in a sitting position.

"Ouch." He groaned, placing a hand on his throbbing stomach.

"Naruto!" The pink-haired kunoichi shouted, angrily pulling away his hand. "You can't be flailing around in your current condition!"

Looking down, he noticed the red that was forming on his previously white bandages.

"You're obviously in no condition to be going anywhere," She stated as she changed Naruto's bloody bandages. "Do you want me to tell the village that you're still sleeping?"

"No," The blonde said with a defeated sigh. "Bring them to me."

With a small nod, she quietly left Naruto alone to his still hazy thoughts. He had no idea what he was going to say, but felt that he might as well say something while he was awake. Anyway, the sooner he informed the village of what happened, the sooner he would be able to get some sleep. At least, that's what he figured.

Observing the dozens of mostly empty cots surrounding him, he saw an unconscious Chouza laying in a cot to the far right. A wave of guilt washed through his being at the worse for wear sight of his savior.

_God, I'm such an idiot! If I thought out a plan beforehand, then I wouldn't have created this mess. If I was just a little more careful, then Chouji's father wouldn't be dying!_

"Naruto-kun," Sakura said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "They're here."

With a small sigh, Naruto turned his gaze to the anxious villagers before him. Most of them looked worried, while a few regarded him with glares and grim frowns. Noticing Chouji in the crowd, he felt ashamed to see an emotionless expression plastered on his face. Naruto averted his gaze from Chouji to a bird's nest sitting on a branch just above his head.

He briefly wondered whether there were eggs in the nest or not before starting his speech.

"A few days ago, I was requested by the Raikage of Kumo to speak with him in his own village," Naruto's mouth became dry, and he drank from a nearby glass of water before continuing. "The Raikage's brother is missing. He is a Jinchuriki just like I am, and he was kidnapped by the Akatsuki."

An uproar of angry voices from the crowd interrupted Naruto's speech.

"He tried to kill you! He can't get away with this!"

"Yeah!"

"We should go to war with Kumo!"

"Yeah!"

"No, no, _no_!" Naruto shouted over the overlapping conversations, frantically waving his arms. "Think about it! We can't afford to start a war with Kumo."

"Well, we have to do _something_!"

"We _are_ going to do something about this! We just need to consider all of our options before we do anything else. You've already seen the consequences of my thoughtless actions!"

Everybody grew quiet as their Hokage's words sunk in.

"I'm sorry I haven't been a very good Hokage so far. I swear to all of you that I will fix my mistakes. Now please leave me alone so I can think."

The silence continued to thicken as the villagers respectfully obeyed his wishes and left.

Just as Naruto was about to get some sleep, Kakashi approached him.

"Hey Naruto," He greeted with a somber gaze. "I need to talk to you, if you don't mind."

"Fire away." The blonde said, his face buried in his hands.

"Please do not hesitate to go to me if you ever need my help," He began. "I also want you to know that Sai and I planned the ambush back in Kumo. He and the others followed us through out the entire journey."

Looking up from his hands, Naruto gave him a tired smile. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

"Also…" Kakashi hesitated.

Naruto had to hide his shock behind his hands once more. He had _never_ seen the grey-haired man hesitate like this before.

_Well, this is a first…_

_You've been experiencing a lot of 'firsts' lately._ A voice observed with a snort.

"I know you're trying to protect Sasuke from the village."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto shot back, deciding to play dumb.

"I'm not trying to criticize you," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "I accidentally overheard your argument with Sasuke. From the look on your face during your speech, I figured he had something to do with the Raikage's brother's disappearance. Don't give up on Sasuke."

Still in shock, Naruto stayed silent.

"You are the only person I believe that has the power to change Sasuke for the better. You have that kind of gift, Naruto. I will keep this secret from the rest of the village, but only because it's you. Remember, you're not alone in this."

"I…"

"You and Sakura have been wanting to chase him down for years now. He still has some good in him, and you're the only one he has ever responded to."

Although his throat choked up, Naruto replied in a steady voice, "Thank you, Kakashi."

"Is there anything I can do before I leave?"

"Yes, thank you. Assign more guards to the gate and inform the village of what the Kumo ninjas look like."

For the rest of the afternoon, Naruto was able to rest in peace. During dinner, Sakura took time out of her schedule to quietly chat with him.

"It's a miracle you managed to survive this wound," She said with an exasperated sigh. "Especially after re-opening it like you did earlier today."

"Jeez, Sakura-chan, how many more times do you want me to apologize?" He said with a good-natured grin. "Anyways, you're a great medic-nin. You'll be able to fix me up again."

"There's only so much medicine can do," She remarked, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't plan on repeating another episode like that for another week or two, if I were you."

Naruto's grin faded a little as he poked at his food with his chop sticks. He wondered if things would ever be the same in Konoha again. Despite his wish for peace, he knew deep down that war against Kumo would be inevitable. He could see the fiery glints of shock and vengeance burning in the villagers' eyes during his earlier speech. It was obvious that neither Konoha nor the Raikage would be backing down any time soon.

"How is Chouza?"

"I…can't say," Sakura replied, averting her gaze from his. "All we can do now is to wait and see."

"I let Tsunade-sama down," He whispered mostly to himself. "All of my actions have led up to this. I will make it up to you, even if it's the last thing I do."

"Naruto-kun…"

Just as she was about to reach out to comfort him, Sai appeared in front of Naruto's cot with a scroll in his hand.

"Naruto-sama," The teen handed Naruto the scroll. "It was just delivered by a ninja from the village of Kumo."

"Thank you, Sai. Is the ninja still here?"

"No."

Naruto dismissed Sai with a small nod. Turning to the plain scroll in his hands, he quickly unfurled it.

**I find it quite unfortunate that our meeting was cut so short. However, I will present to you a new proposition that will be impossible for you to escape from.**

**Now, you have two options. Either give me back my brother or give me Sasuke. If you fail to cooperate, then my ninjas and I will appear at the gates of Konoha.**

**You have one day. We will arrive the day after tomorrow at sun rise.**

**Choose wisely, Naruto Uzumaki.**

**Sincerely,**

**The Raikage of Kumo.**

_Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse…_

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Could you please be quiet for a few minutes?"

Biting back a response, she left Naruto to check on her other patients.

_Oh Christ, what am I going to do?!_

Closing his eyes and rubbing small circles on his temple, Naruto did his best to keep his cool.

_I can do this. I can and will solve this problem without compromising the safety of the village._

Taking a sip of water from his glass, he tried to ignore the headache that was slowly forming behind his skull.

_I have three options. I can either find the Raikage's brother, give up Sasuke, or start a war with Kumo._

Naruto gave a small, hysterical giggle at the absurdity of all three of his options.

_I don't know where the hell the Raikage's brother is! I can't give away Sasuke, and it would mean the end of Konoha is I started a war!_

_Think calmly, Naruto! Now, what would Tsunade-sama do?_

His thoughts immediately turned to Sasuke, and a plan began to form in his mind.

_I should've thought of this before the scroll was delivered!_

"Sakura-chan," Naruto called with a determined glint in his eye. "Bring me Ibiki."

A few minutes later, she returned with the tall and quite intimidating ninja.

"Yes?"

"I need you to interrogate Sasuke and find out where the Raikage's brother is."

"All right. I will notify you of the results as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Ibiki-san."

Now that he would be attempting to tackle down the first option, all Naruto could do now was wait. He wasn't sure how long it would take Ibiki to interrogate Sasuke, so he wanted to get some more sleep until then.

In a few minutes, Naruto fell into a relatively light doze. As the sun began to set from the sky, his subconscious pulled his mind further and further into the depths of the darkness.

_Under the full moon, Naruto was once again sitting outside of Sasuke's prison. He silently inched near the sandy bars, curiosity burning through his limbs._

_Instead of shaking and groaning like he usually did, the raven was sleeping with a calm expression plastered on his face._

_Naruto's heart thumped wildly in his chest as he wondered how it would be like to touch the raven-haired teen. What would it be like to caress his soft, pale skin, to run his hands through his black, silky hair? To have his own lips press ever so gently against the raven's currently vulnerable lips…?_

_Holding his breath, the blonde placed a shaky hand through the gaps of the bars. His heart skipped a beat as a pale hand grabbed his wrist and roughly pulled it forwards._

_"I know you want me, Naruto. I've known the entire time."_

_With a seductive smirk, Sasuke used his other hand to grab the blonde's shirt collar._

"Naruto, I have the information you asked for." Ibiki stated loudly.

Naruto's eyelids flew open and he jerked upright from his cot, accidentally knocking away his sheets to the ground.

"Huh?"

"It's been confirmed. The Raikage's brother escaped the Akatsuki's grasp. He was never successfully kidnapped."


	9. Chapter 9

Forgetting that it was nighttime and they were in a hospital setting, Naruto pumped his fists in the air with a loud whoop.

"Yes, that is _awesome!_"

"_Naruto_," Sakura hissed quietly from across the clearing. "You are not the only patient here."

"You're sure this information is correct?"

"I was as thorough as one can be. Sasuke did not lie at any point during the interrogation."

"I really appreciate you doing this," Naruto said with a wide grin. "Thanks, Ibiki-san."

"You're welcome, Naruto-sama."

After Ibiki left, the now bubbly blonde turned to Sakura.

"Isn't this great, Sakura-chan? Who would've known that Sasuke would tell us the truth?"

"Yeah, it is great," She replied half-heartedly. "I'm going to go to bed now. Good night."

"Wait. Could you bring Sai to me first?"

"Okay."

While Naruto waited for Sakura to return with Sai, he quietly reveled in his unexpected good luck. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. There was no doubt in his mind now that he would be able to stay in good relations with the Raikage.

_I can't believe how easy that was! All I have to do now is contact Kumo of what Sasuke said._

_You have to admit, it _is _kind of weird that Sasuke would be so willing to comply with Ibiki. _Another voice mused.

_Aw, who cares? I don't have to start a war with Kumo!_

"Yes, Naruto-sama?" Sai asked, standing at the front of the blonde's cot.

"Send a message to Kumo it's been confirmed that the Raikage's brother had escaped the Akatsuki's clutches," Naruto ordered. "Bring two other ninjas of your choosing with you."

"When would you wish for me to leave?"

"Immediately."

"Yes, Naruto-sama."

Once Sai disappeared, Naruto took his time to carefully retrieve his blankets from the ground. However, before he could bend over, Sakura walked over to Naruto's cot, picked them up, and instructed him to lay down.

"Good night, Naruto-kun," She said with a warm smile as she pulled the covers up to his upper torso. "Please contact me if you need any assistance. You really can't afford to move around too much."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," He said with a grateful smile. "Good night."

Although Naruto was usually a heavy sleeper, he was too jittery to get a full night's rest. Now that the situation with Kumo was as good as solved, he could spend more time rebuilding the village. He figured that once adequate living quarters were built, things would be a little less hectic.

_Wait, I have seven ninjas still missing from Konoha!_ He realized, scorning himself for celebrating so early.

His thoughts turned to the quiet, yet gentle Hinata Hyuuga.

_I can't believe I got so caught up in the moment to forget them!_

Ignoring the guilt that weighed heavily in his chest, he tried to think of what to do next.

_Where was Neji last seen? Oh yeah, in this forest, I think. At least I know where to start searching first…_

All of a sudden, a very obvious detail that Naruto should've been able to spot made itself clear to him. Neji had been chasing after Sasuke, and Naruto finally noticed his absence a while _after _he fought Sasuke's new team.

His heart froze as he thought back to his short-lived fight with the two strange men in the forest. What happened to them after he left his clones with the orange-haired man?

_Sasuke._

"That little-" Naruto growled, ripping the sheets from his cot.

Before he had even planted his feet on the ground, his abdomen shrieked with protest at his sudden movements. Praying that he hadn't reopened his wound, he placed a hand against his throbbing stomach. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked down and saw that his hand was still dry. Since he wasn't going to bleed to death on the spot, he figured it would still be okay for him to continue to journey to Sasuke's prison.

_Sakura was right! I need to take it easy._

With a deep breath, he slowly placed his bare feet on the ground and stood up. Okay. He could do this. He just had to take one step at a time. It wouldn't do him or the village any good if he accidentally killed himself before confronting Sasuke.

_This better be worth my time. Sakura will murder me if she finds me out of my bed._

Once he successfully tip-toed his way past the other sleeping patients, he began to relax a little. Thankful for the rays emitting from the full moon overhead, he didn't have too much trouble finding his way back to the prison.

"What do you want, dobe?"

Jumping at the raven's unexpected response, Naruto gained his composure and crossed his arms with a glare.

"What did your thugs do with Neji?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Sasuke! Neji was chasing after you and-"

"You're still not making any sense. Where is Neji?"

"You tell me where Neji is! He disappeared after I fought your thugs!"

"I don't know where he is. After I entered the village, I went through the forest and ran into Tsunade. I only ordered my comrades to stop you from getting in my way."

A long moment of silence followed his explanation as Naruto wondered whether he should trust Sasuke or not. After all, Sasuke _did_ willingly tell Ibiki the truth about the Raikage's brother. On the other hand, he had thrown away his friendship with Naruto by leaving the village to pursuit power.

"Fine. Whatever, Sasuke," The blonde threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "I don't know why I even bother trying to figure you out, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Same goes for me."

"Hey, _I _didn't leave Konoha just to return a couple of years later, kill the Hokage, then suddenly work with the village I vowed to hate!"

"Did the thought ever cross your mind that I wanted to do something new with my life?"

Letting his words sink in, Naruto tried to recollect his now scrambled thoughts.

"So, what are you going to do now? What's it like to finally realize that there are other ways to live?"

"I don't know. It's kind of weird, actually. I'm not so angry at Konoha as I am with myself."

Before Naruto could respond, he heard the tall bushes behind him rustle loudly.

"Naruto! What are you doing out of bed?" Sakura scolded, grabbing his hand.

"I-"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. You still need rest."

She shot Sasuke a quick glare before impatiently pulling Naruto across the clearing like a mother would to her disobedient child when walking through a crowded village.

"Why were you talking to Sasuke?" She asked with a tight-lipped frown.

"Why not?" Naruto shot back. "Don't you want Sasuke to become a citizen of Konoha again?"

"No, not really, Naruto." She replied, tightening her grip on his hand.

"What? I don't under-"Naruto was shocked to see tears welling up in the pink kunoichi's eyes.

"Sasuke killed Tsunade, Naruto! How can you expect me to forgive him after that?"

Staying silent, Naruto followed Sakura back to the temporary "hospital."

At a loss for words, he made a feeble attempt to comfort her.

"Sakura-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Still stunned, Naruto climbed into his cot and pondered on what had just happened.

_I guess it's safe to say that I'm the most insensitive idiot in Konoha, _he concluded.

_Yeah, you screwed up pretty badly this time, _a voice said.

_Agreed, _another voice that usually disagreed with the first voice replied.

With a low sigh, Naruto rolled to his side and squeezed his eyes shut. There was nothing useful he could do now, so he decided he might as well sleep for a few more hours.

Naruto woke up to the succulent scent of a tender meat that hit his nose like a wall of bricks.

"Here's your breakfast." Sakura said, handing Naruto a bowl of meat.

He was extremely ashamed to see that her eyes were still red and puffy from crying. He half-heartedly stabbed at the meat with the chopsticks as he tried to think of how he could make it up to her.

_Tell her the truth_, a voice suggested.

_About what?_

_Why you were at Sasuke's prison._

_Because I wanted to know whether he knew where Neji was?_

_No, because you like Sasuke._

Blushing at the thought, Naruto stabbed the meat again with a little more force than what was necessary.

_Since when did I start to like Sasuke?_

_Since you first spied on him in his sleep._

"Sakura?"

"What do you need?"

"I want to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy."

"I'll tell you the truth of why I was with Sasuke if you're willing to listen."

There was a momentary pause as Sakura served the last of the meat to her patients.

"All right. Hang on for another minute or two."

After a few minutes, Sakura finished tending to her patients' needs and stood before Naruto's cot with crossed arms.

"Explain."

"I-I," He stuttered, staring down at his hands. "I like Sasuke."

"What?"

"You heard what I said." He mumbled, his face turning beet red.

"Hm. I'm not surprised. It was kind of obvious, now that I think about it."

"What do you mean by _that_?"

"_Naruto,_" She said, rolling her eyes. "Not everyone in this village is as clueless as _you _are."

"I-_what_?"

"How many times have I caught you with Sasuke? I can't even remember…"

"Okay, _okay,_ I get the point!"

"He really doesn't deserve someone like you, but, I mean, hey! I wish you the best of luck when it comes to pursuing Sasuke."

"Thanks, Sakura." He replied sarcastically.

"Trust me, you'll need it. Half of the girls were after him, but he never as much as blinked in our direction."

Naruto took advantage of the moment to begin eating his breakfast.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, Naruto."

"You're welcome…I guess."

Sakura left his side with an amused smile plastered on her face.

To Naruto's boredom, there wasn't much going on that morning. Since he was still confined to his cot, he couldn't do a whole lot besides chat with Sakura and think quietly to himself. He impatiently wondered how long it would take for Sai and his team to return with a message from Kumo.

_You only sent him out last night, _a voice scolded.

After a few hours of more thinking and chatting with Sakura, he decided to take a small nap.

_The full moon lit the well-worn path that led to Sasuke's prison, making itself known to Naruto. It was with a growing sense of anticipation and curiosity that he stepped lightly onto the path._

_A wave of pity washed over him as he neared closer and closer to the prison. He could hear Sasuke groaning in his sleep again because of his tormenting nightmares._

_His eyes widened as he heard what kind of noises were coming from the enclosed space._

"_Naruto…" Sasuke moaned, still sleeping._

_Naruto's heart pounded wildly in his chest as he wondered what he should do next. His natural instincts trumped over his logic, which lead him to the back of the sand prison. Gaara had explained to him how to open the prison a while back, so Naruto performed the correct hand jutsu to activate it. The sand spilled away to reveal a large hole leading into the prison._

_Crawling into the prison, Naruto was surprised to find the raven with his eyes barely open. Laying flat on his back, looking the most vulnerable Naruto had ever seen him…well, it was an invitation just begging to be opened._

"_Kiss me." Sasuke moaned, digging his fingernails into the sand._

"Naruto! Wake up!"

"Jesus Christ, why do you feel the need to bug me so much? I'm trying to get some sleep here!"

Naruto opened his eyes to see an unusually ruffled Sai and three other ninjas at his bedside. Sakura stood by with a frown on her face.

"The Raikage refused to believe your answer and he warned you to be ready by sunrise," Sai reported. "He and his ninjas chased us out of Kumo."

"Thank you, Sai. All of you are dismissed."

They looked hesitant in doing so, but did as they were told. Unsure of what to do, Sakura stayed behind.

"Jesus Christ," Naruto mumbled, leaning his kneaded fingers against his forehead. "When will this nightmare _end_?"

"Naruto…?"

"This means war, Sakura. If Kumo wants a war, then we'll give them a war."


	10. Chapter 10

"What time is it, Sakura?" Naruto asked, already formulating a plan in his mind.

"Um…" Sakura hesitated, a little frightened by the sudden change in his mood. "It's mid-afternoon, I think."

"Good, we still have time…"

Leaving Naruto to his thoughts, Sakura looked down to study her grimy fingernails. She understood his reasons for declaring war on Kumo, but she felt that it was all happening too quickly. It would take months for the reconstruction of the village to be completed, and a war was the last thing Konoha needed.

_Not only that, but the villagers aren't prepared for another war, _she thought nervously.

Although Naruto was certainly looking to secure the future of Konoha, the villagers were still in shock over what had happened the past few weeks. For God's sake, they had only recently lost their homes and businesses, their Hokage, and the council elders. Now they were facing the possibility of _war_?

_It's too much, too soon._

The majority of the village was still mourning Tsunade's death, especially Shizune. Whenever Sakura wasn't chatting with Naruto or tending to her patients, she was visiting the poor woman. She even had to treat quite a few people for depression and shock, including the former Hokage's assistant.

It certainly didn't help that Naruto had been visiting Sasuke so frequently. For the blonde's sake, she would make up plausible explanations and tell them to curious villagers. Although she was happy for her friend, her feelings towards Sasuke remained unchanged. She had cared for the raven, even after he left Konoha, but the death of her mentor had changed all of that.

Personally, she could care less if Sasuke ever did clean up his act and become a citizen of Konoha again. He was still a murderer in her eyes, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow with a silent sigh.

Even so, she regarded Naruto as a brother, and couldn't stay angry with him for long. He genuinely liked and cared for Sasuke, and there wasn't anything she could do about it. Although he never mentioned it out loud, she knew the blonde was lonely. Even after all of those years, he had still been determined as ever to track Sasuke down and drag him back to Konoha.

_Of course, if Sasuke does anything to break his heart, I will gladly beat the living crap out of him_, she promised to herself.

"Sakura."

"Yes?"

"Please bring Sai and Kakashi to me."

"All right."

With a nod, she left Naruto's side to travel swiftly through the village and to the gates.

"Naruto wants to speak with the two of you." She explained to the two ninjas.

"We'll be right on it."

"Thank you, Sakura."

Just as Sai and Kakashi left, Shikamaru appeared before her with a panicked expression on his face. His eyes were wide, his knees shaking, and was completely out of breath.

"Kurenai wanted me to get you."

"You mean-"

"Yeah. It's time."

_Oh god, that is horrible timing! She has to be moved to a safe location before Kumo-_

"Sakura!"

"Where is she?"

"In her tree house."

"I'll help her out, but I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Ask Naruto where he is planning to move the women and children."

Shikamaru gave her a quick nod before disappearing.

_Crap, crap, crap! _She thought while running through the empty village. Although Tsunade had explained in detail how to deliver babies, Sakura had never personally delivered one before. She had acted as Tsunade's assistant for births here and there, but she supposed it wasn't the same thing as being the one to actually _deliver _a baby.

_Get it together, Sakura! Tsunade-sama said that labor took hours to complete._

Unfortunately, she wasn't sure whether Kurenai would have that time to give birth or not. She knew that the Raikage and his ninjas would be arriving by sunrise. However, Kurenai and her newborn baby wouldn't be safe in a battle torn situation.

_You better have a plan by now, Naruto, _she thought as she arrived at the make-shift village.

"Where is Kurenai's tree house?" Sakura asked a nearby group of villagers.

A young girl pointed to a tree house located to the far right.

While Sakura was busy helping Kurenai through labor, Shikamaru was explaining his situation to Naruto.

"…so?"

"Sai will be in charge of relocating the women and children," Naruto replied. "He will take Kurenai to the place I mentioned immediately. If she is unable to move, then I will assign ninjas to guard her tree house."

Shikamaru flashed a stern gaze in Sai's direction before leaving. "What will I be doing?"

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but I can't afford to have you stay with Kurenai. You're a big part in my plan for tomorrow."

"When will we be required to be in our places?"

"At least an hour or two before dawn. I've had a ton of rest already, so I will be able to contact all of you on time."

"So, does that mean-"

"Fine, go visit Kurenai. Just make sure you get a good night's rest and be here on time."

"Thank you, Naruto."

The sudden sight of Kurenai's transferal caused a stir among the villagers. Their nerves were already stretched thin enough by the conflict going on between the Raikage and their new Hokage. A few of the non-ninja villagers had overheard Naruto's declaration of war against Kumo and told their friends about it. Thus, the rumor of war spreads through out the already cramped village like a raging wildfire.

"I disagree with Naruto-sama's decision," An older woman stated to a group of her family members. "A war against Kumo wouldn't solve anything."

"No," Her daughter disagreed. "The Raikage _attacked _our Hokage! He shouldn't be able to get away with doing that. Anyways, we already did our best to solve this peacefully!"

The discussion between mother and daughter soon became heated. Ino, who was lounging nearby, watched the two with worry. She gave a gasp of horror as the mother angrily slapped her daughter. Deciding to intervene, she stood between the two with a critical gaze.

"You guys can't be fighting with each other," She said. "Especially since nothing has officially been decided yet!"

"This doesn't have anything to do with you," The mother shot back. "Being a ninja doesn't make you superior to me."

"That's not what I-"

"If it weren't for _your _kind, the village would still be intact!"

"Please, you're misunder-"

"I'll take it from here." Sai promised, coming from the deep depths of the forest.

"People of Konoha," He shouted, finally catching the angry villagers' attentions. "Please settle down, for I have an announcement from the Hokage to inform you of."

Still disgruntled, the old woman quietly backed away from Ino.

"It is true that we as a nation will be going to war against Kumo. Because they refuse to deal with us in peaceful terms, we are forced to fight for our own protection. In order to minimize the number of future casualties, all civilians will be moved to a secret base located deep in this forest. Be ready to leave by nightfall."

"Why is Kumo doing this?" One villager asked.

"Won't this be over if we give up Sasuke?"

"Yeah! He only causes trouble!"

"When will Kumo attack?"

Before the roar of the crowd could grow any louder, Sai put his index finger and his thumb in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle.

"Kumo has planned to meet us at dawn! We will inform you of when it's safe to leave in due time."

"And what if Kumo does defeat us?" A man in his mid-forties yelled. "What will happen to the rest of us if you ninjas are killed?"

"I cannot tell you what will happen tomorrow at dawn. I honestly do not know the answers to your questions. However, I do believe that Naruto-sama has a good plan on hand, and we should stick to it in order for his plan to succeed."

Once the crowd calmed down, Sai gave one last suggestion before leaving.

"There are only a few more hours left of sunlight. Anyone staying here will be left to die. I will be back with four groups of ninjas to help escort all of you. That is all."

With a grim farewell, Sai left the village to their mixed thoughts. The stunned villagers all looked at one another with fear clear in their eyes. They could tell from Sai's strangely grave tone that he was as uncertain as they were. What could they do now? It seemed as if putting their faith into Naruto was their only option available.

But would faith alone be enough?

An ominous chill set in the cooling air, seeping into their already troubled hearts. What would happen if the ninjas from Kumo _did _slaughter their own ninjas? What would be the fate of the unsuspecting villagers, left to simply sit and wait? For the first time since Pein destroyed Konoha, the villagers felt completely helpless.

_At least we had Tsunade back then_, the old woman from earlier thought. _All we have now are prayers and an injured Hokage that is only a teenager!_

Finally noticing the slowly setting sun before her, she tapped her daughter's shoulder to get her attention.

"We should start to pack as soon as possible."

"What?" Her daughter seemed dazed. "Oh yes, you're right. The sun will be setting soon."

Once the old woman and her family got up and left to their tree houses, the rest of the villagers began to leave too. Although their fear for their lives was overwhelming, they managed to pack their most important belongings without a fuss. By the time the sun had set, they were all ready to leave.

Meanwhile in the "hospital", Naruto was busy speaking with Sai. He was the only patient left in the immediate area.

"Do you have any questions before you leave to hide away the villagers?"

"Where will you be at dawn, Naruto-sama?"

"I'll be fighting, of course."

"Sakura won't be there to heal you."

With a frustrated sigh, Naruto tried to explain his reasoning to Sai.

"I refuse to stand by and rely on my comrades to fight my battle. This is between me and the Raikage."

Knowing it would be pointless to try and change his mind, Sai gave Naruto one last nod before leaving.

A shiver of anticipation ran down Naruto's spine as the last rays of the sun faded away. This was his chance to end things between Konoha and Kumo once and for all. This was his chance to prove that he, Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Fourth Hokage, was a capable leader for his beloved village of Konoha.

_Just you wait, Raikage. I'll teach you to not mess with Konoha soon enough. I'll give you a war that you'll never forget._

Even so, he was still pretty nervous about the upcoming battle. He had never started a war before, and wondered whether his plan would be sufficient enough. He had learned from Pein how truly destructive war was, and how much sorrow and hate bred from it.

_Am I making the right decision by sending Konoha into war? _He thought, asking himself this question for the millionth time that day.

It was quite maddening for Naruto to be so indecisive over one action. No matter how many times he would convince himself that he was doing the right thing, his mind would always review back to his conversation with Pein. How many people would die in this war? How many broken hearts would result from this overall pointless war?

_You know, war isn't the only option, _a voice reminded him. _You could solve this by giving up Sasuke to Kumo._

Naruto immediately cringed from the abominable thought of giving up Sasuke. He couldn't do it, especially after seeing the true Sasuke behind the cold, unfeeling mask he had worn for most of his life. It would simply be too cruel for him to give up a lifelong rival and friend to a ruthless enemy.

_Anyways, it was the Raikage that stirred this crap up in the first place, _he figured. _Konoha can stand our own ground when needed._

Since he was too anxious to get any sleep before dawn, he decided to visit Sasuke again. To his extreme annoyance, a heavy fog had settled into the forest, obscuring his vision. Praying that he'd be able to find his way back, Naruto wandered warily through the fog. Although his wound was miraculously healing quite nicely, his abdomen was still tender.

_Stupid Kumo ninjas…_

"What are you doing here again, dobe? Are you here with Ibiki to interrogate me some more?" Sasuke's almost bored sounding voice pierced through the concealing fog.

"No, I just felt like talking." Naruto replied, sitting on a nearby boulder.

"What did you use that information I gave Ibiki for?"

Without even giving it a second thought, Naruto explained to him of what was happening between Konoha and Kumo. It took at least ten minutes for him to explain, but he really wanted to hear Sasuke's reaction.

"Why would you go to war over me?"

"I'm not going to war over you!" The blonde said, his face turning red. "I can't allow the Raikage to do whatever he wants without a fight!"

"Still, why not give me up to Kumo? You wouldn't have to go to war if you just gave me up to them."

"I can't just give you up since you're innocent. They would kill you."

Naruto gave his thanks to the gods above for placing a fog in the woods so Sasuke wouldn't be able to see his deepening blush.

_Why is Sasuke asking these weird questions in the first place?_

"What are you planning to do at dawn?"

For the rest of the night, Naruto and Sasuke chatted about various subjects. In a way, it was very surreal for Naruto to establish a kind of relationship with Sasuke after all they had gone through. He wouldn't go as far as to say they were friends again, but they seemed to be getting there. Although Sasuke wasn't as hostile as before, he still continued to keep to himself.

Naruto hadn't realized that it was close to dawn until Sasuke mentioned it.

"Naruto, you idiot. It's dawn, and you haven't even realized it yet."

Looking up, Naruto was surprised to find that the raven was right. The sky was a light blue, and the first rays of the sun were beginning to peek through the treetops.

"Aw crap, I gotta go!"

Naruto muttered a string of curses at the fog as he sprinted through the wet forest. Ignoring the pain in his throbbing stomach, he continued to race through the forest and into the empty village.

Soon enough, he reached the gates of Konoha and found all of the ninjas at their designated spots.

"Is the Raikage here yet?" He asked the nearest ninja.

"No, not yet."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Naruto stood in between the gate.

His relaxed state began to fade, replaced with a strong feeling of anticipation. Even as the sun continued to rise, there were still no signs of Kumo. It only made things worse that the fog refused to dissipate.

_This is a little _too _eerie…_

_Agreed. There's something fishy about this entire situation, _another voice added.

As the minutes passed by, Naruto was tempted to invade Kumo instead, if they weren't going to stick to their own promises. Even a few of the ninjas were starting to get restless.

Naruto was about to say something to his neighbor, when the ninja shushed him.

"Wait. Look!"

With the squint of his eyes, Naruto saw the outlines of three shadows coming from the white fog.


	11. Chapter 11

The surrounding atmosphere grew tense as the ninjas of Konoha waited for their enemies to emerge from the fog.

Naruto silently gritted his teeth as Samui's team appeared before him.

"This doesn't have to end up in war," He stated, determined to make a last ditch effort in talking things out. "Konoha would be more than willing to work things out peacefully."

"No, you're absolutely correct." Samui replied with a solemn frown. "A war between my nation and yours would be completely unnecessary."

"W-what?" The blonde stuttered. "That is, I mean-"

"The Raikage no longer holds a grudge against you," Samui explained. "His brother returned on his own last night."

"Thank you for telling me this…I guess."

"Kumo offers you a sincere apology for all of the damage we have caused. Excuse me, but my team and I must be leaving immediately."

Naruto's jaw dropped as she said this, and he tried to process this information with little success. Even after Samui and her team left, he continued to stand there without making a single sound.

"Naruto," Kakashi said hesitantly, resting his hand on the blonde's frozen shoulder. "Are you okay? You'd better get some rest soon."

"What the hell just happened?" Naruto said to himself, not noticing Kakashi's presence. "All of that anxiety and planning, and for _nothing_?!"

Kakashi and the rest of the ninjas became a little alarmed as the blonde began to giggle.

"I don't know whether I should be relieved or pissed," He giggled, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I should go fetch the rest of the villagers from the forest now."

"I'll be right on it." The grey-haired nin promised.

After Kakashi and a few other ninjas left, Naruto turned to the rest of the assembled ninjas.

"Since we're not going to war, the plan I made is pretty much useless. Go back to whatever you were doing before all of this happened."

With hesitant frowns, they did what they were told and left Naruto to his mixed thoughts.

On one hand, he was very pleased with the way things turned out, yet there was another part of him that had been anticipating for a battle against the Raikage. He was still angry at Kumo's leader, but not angry enough to provoke him and create trouble for his own village.

_Forget any personal grudges, _a voice instructed. _At least, for now. Think of the safety of the village._

Naruto silently pondered on his duties as Hokage while trekking towards the woods. He froze in his tracks at the sudden grumbling noises coming from nearby.

_A careless enemy…?_

Alarmed, he grabbed a kunai blade from his pouch and silently waited for the enemy to make another move. From the corner of his eye, he saw a large shadow melt into the surrounding fog. Before he could investigate it any further, he heard the grumbling noises again.

_Where is that noise coming from?_

With a blush, he finally realized that it was his empty stomach making the grumbling noises. He hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and here he was, thinking that an enemy was nearby! He placed his kunai back into his pouch.

_Are you _that _desperate for a fight? _A voice teased him.

"Maybe I am…" He muttered to himself.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, stepping from the foggy forest. "What are you doing here?"

"There won't be a war," He stated with a grin. "It turns out that the Raikage's brother returned to Kumo on his own. What are _you _doing here?"

"I needed to grab some medicine for Kurenai, but," She grabbed his hand and led him to the hospital clearing. "Never mind that! Come with me to look at her baby!"

"Kurenai had her baby already?"

"Uh huh! I had to bring the two of them here because Kurenai wasn't doing well, but she's fine now. Exhausted, but perfectly healthy."

Sakura let go of Naruto's hand once they arrived at the clearing. Although Kurenai still looked pale and woozy, she cradled her newborn baby with a smile on her face.

"Congratulations, Kurenai. What is your baby's name?"

"Thank you, Naruto. His name is Ryou."

"Come over here, Naruto. Look at how cute Ryou-kun is." Sakura squealed quietly.

Suddenly becoming shy, Naruto shook his head with an apologetic frown. Ryou looked so tiny and fragile, sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms…

"Don't be scared. See how much he looks like Asuma." Shikamaru said, appearing by Kurenai's bed side.

"And he has Kurenai's curly hair." Sakura giggled.

Not wanting to disturb Ryou's slumber, Naruto took slow, soft steps towards Kurenai's bed. A wide smile formed on his face as he observed baby Ryou. Although Naruto had never seen very many babies before, he considered Ryou to be the cutest of them all. He stood frozen to the spot as Ryou began to open his dark eyes. After studying Naruto for a few seconds, he began to gurgle with a happy smile.

"Would you like to hold him? He obviously likes you."

"I-I've never held a baby before…"

"Here, I'll show you."

To Naruto's delight, he was able to hold Ryou correctly on his first try. A strange kind of warmth blossomed within Naruto's chest as he carefully cradled Ryou. As he continued to hold him, he finally recognized the strange warmth as protectiveness. This feeling only grew as Ryou began to study his surroundings.

An unexpected wave of sorrow washed through Naruto's being as he wondered what the child's future would be like.

_It's up to me to be a responsible Hokage and help protect Asuma and Kurenai's child from the evils of this world._

Although Konoha was safe from war for now, he had a sinking feeling in his gut that they weren't safe yet. The shadow from before wanted something, and it wasn't going to give up that easily. A shiver ran down his spine, and his arms began to crawl with goose bumps as if someone had walked over his grave.

"Thank you for letting me hold Ryou," Naruto said, handing the bundled baby to Kurenai. "I have to go now. Goodbye."

"Bye." Kurenai said with a weary smile, holding Ryou close to her chest.

_Stop being so paranoid, stop being so paranoid, stop being so paranoid…_

As he hunted for his breakfast far from the forest, he tried to calm himself down by repeating this mantra over and over again. The feeling that he had been followed earlier was beginning to really unnerve him.

_I know I'm not seeing things, so who would still have a grudge against me? Should I increase the number of guards surrounding Konoha? _

"No, I don't have enough ninjas to be able to do that," He muttered. "I need to continue reconstructing the village before doing anything else."

After successfully hunting down a foul, he took the time to cook it the old-fashioned way. As he ate his breakfast on a nearby boulder, he was relieved to see the fog quickly dissipating under the rising sun.

_I should be getting back soon before long…_

His overall plan for the day was to join the villagers and help them build apartments. He personally wanted to create safe living quarters for everybody as soon as possible. If there really were enemies hiding in the forest, then it was his duty to move the villagers back to the village first.

"There you are," Kakashi said, walking towards Naruto with his hands in his pockets. "All of the villagers are back in the forest."

"Good," The blonde replied. "I've decided to spend the day creating apartments for the villages."

"I'll go gather the volunteers once they've had breakfast, then."

"Cool. Thanks for doing this, Kakashi."

"It's no problem."

While Kakashi went out to the forest, Naruto proceeded to clean up the mess he had left behind. Afterwards, he left for the massive clearing that used to be Konoha. He only had to wait ten minutes until the villagers and ninjas began to arrive.

Spotting Yamato in the large crowd, Naruto approached him.

"Hey Yamato, do you know any techniques that'll create some apartments instantly?"

"Sure. I can help you with that. You'll need everybody to clear the way, though."

After everybody else moved far away enough, Yamato began to concentrate. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as dozens of apartment buildings began to shoot up from the ground. It only took around five seconds for Yamato to produce a sufficient number of apartment buildings to accommodate an entire village.

"Jeez, you make building look so easy!" Naruto yelled. "Thanks Yamato! You deserve a break already."

Naruto was alarmed by how exhausted Yamato was, and allowed him to rest for the entire day.

"We'll take it from here. I really appreciate your hard work, Yamato."

"Thank you, Naruto."

For the rest of the day, all of the villagers took their time to move into their new apartments. Although Naruto had expected the building to take longer, he was pleased to have that over with. After consulting with Sai, he found out the number of beds needed for the villagers. With the help of a few spare ninjas, they began to gather wood and other necessary supplies from the nearby forest.

Unfortunately, they did not build enough beds for all of the villagers to sleep in that night. In the end, they gave the beds to the individuals that needed them for medical reasons, and gave everybody else cots.

Once all of the villagers had moved in, Naruto decided to look for a relatively quiet apartment building to settle into. The sun was beginning to set, and he was absolutely in need for a good night's rest. He noticed that most of the buildings had their lights out already, except for one apartment building located in the middle of the village.

_I wonder what's going on in there…_

Curious, Naruto traveled to the middle of the village and entered the plain apartment building. His curiosity only grew, for he heard a couple of voices chatting in a room upstairs. After walking up a couple of stair cases, he approached the noisy room and knocked on the door.

"Hey Naruto!" Sakura greeted, opening the door. "You can stay here if you want to! Sai and a few other ninjas are here playing a card game."

With a tired smile, Naruto entered the room and spotted the nearest cot.

"Hey, I'm sorry to barge in like this, but I'm really exhausted, so I think I'll skip out on whatever you guys are doing. Night."

"Night!"

"See ya!"

Entering the spare room, Naruto closed the door behind him and turned the lights on. It was fairly small, but he definitely preferred it over the cramped tree houses. Deciding that he would take a shower tomorrow morning, he laid upon the cot without even opening the sheets. With a loud yawn, he snapped the lights off and waited not so uncomfortably for sleep.

Just as his mind was on the brink of sleep, he thought of Sasuke, still in the forest.

_Oh, crap! I forgot about Sasuke!_

_You can take care of that issue tomorrow, _a voice snapped.

Before he could decide on anything else, he fell quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N - **Aw jeez, if this chapter seems rushed or incorrect in any way, shape, or form, please notify me of it in a review.

* * *

It was the strong scent of meat cooking in the kitchen that woke Naruto up that morning. Groaning, he shifted to his side and tried to ignore the inviting scent of breakfast. He was still exhausted from the drama that ensued the day before, and didn't really feel like eating.

He was about to drift off to sleep again when his stomach began to growl.

_Shut up, I wanna sleep…_

The longer he ignored his protesting stomach, the more he became annoyed.

"Fine, have it your way…" He muttered, quickly moving to a sitting position.

After stretching out his stiff joints, he left his bedroom and headed towards the kitchen.

"Did you sleep in your clothes from yesterday?" Sakura asked, observing him with a critical eye. "You need to start taking better care of yourself."

"Good morning to you too, Sakura-chan."

While she was busy cooking, Sai, Kakashi, and Iruka were lounging in the living room. Naruto spotted the three sitting on a couch chatting to one another in low whispers, and decided to approach them.

"Iruka-sensei! I didn't see you here last night."

"Hey Naruto," Iruka greeted back with a warm smile. "I wanted to stop by and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. Being Hokage is a lot tougher than I expected it to be." The blonde admitted, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon enough. It shouldn't be too stressful, since the conflict with Kumo is over with."

"I'll see you all around some time later, then. See ya."

"Take it easy!"

"Bye!"

Naruto entered the kitchen once again to eat a light breakfast with Sakura. Afterwards, he grabbed a clean outfit from his room and brought it with him to the bathroom.

His nose wrinkled as he stripped off his clothes. No wonder Sakura seemed so angry earlier that morning! He hadn't noticed until now how dirty he was. A sticky layer of grime covered nearly every inch of his body, and his clothes reeked of sweat.

_I need to do the laundry as soon as I'm out of the shower._

Naruto stepped into the bath tub and turned the knob slightly to the left. He gave a sigh of relief as the hot water ran down his sore body. Although he was careful washing his abdomen, he could already tell that his wound was almost completely healed.

_Jeez, being Hokage really isn't as cool as I thought it was going to be, _Naruto thought with a disappointed sigh. _I've had to deal with the Raikage, the reconstruction of my village, and the death of Tsunade. What else can go wrong?_

_Don't you even dare to think of giving up! _A voice replied angrily. _Tsunade trusted you enough to give you the title of Hokage, and the entire village depends on you!_

_Yeah, I know. I wish life would just cut me a little slack here and there…_

After he was done with his shower, he dried off and put his clothes on. He exited the bathroom with a towel around his neck.

"Naruto," Kakashi stepped towards him with a solemn gaze. "There's a small group of villagers gathered outside of the building. Sai is keeping them from entering, but you must speak with them soon."

"Thanks, Kakashi."

Leaving the towel on a nearby table, he slipped on his sandals and left the apartment.

_What can be so urgent that they need to form a mob this early in the morning?_

The angry chatter of the crowd intensified once they saw Naruto emerging from the apartment building. He spotted Sai near the edge of the crowd, obviously trying to distract them.

"Please form a single orderly line and tell me your problems one at a time!" The blonde nin yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth.

Although most of the complaints had to do with the reconstruction of the village, a few people asked Naruto what he was going to do about Sasuke.

_Sasuke!_

Once he finished speaking with all of the villagers, he searched for Kakashi.

"Hey, Kakashi! Can you do a favor for me?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"I want to move Sasuke into our apartment. Could you take my place for a few hours and help with the reconstruction?"

"Sure, but I would be quick if I were you. I'll direct the villagers away from our apartment building to the best of my abilities."

"Thanks, Kakashi. I really appreciate you doing this."

Naruto left with a small wave and ran swiftly towards the forest. A mixture of anticipation and anxiety tingled down his spine as he thought about Sasuke moving in.

Would he be able to convince Sasuke to live with him? Would he be willing to become a law-abiding citizen of Konoha once more?

"Hey dobe," Sasuke greeted with a smirk. "I had the impression that you were beginning to warm up to me, yet you left me here in this prison. Did you change your mind already?"

"Ah, about that…" Naruto hesitated, blushing. "W-would you like to move into an apartment with Sai, Kakashi, Sakura, and I?"

"Sure."

Naruto blinked a few times and tried to mentally re-asses Sasuke's answer. Was it just his imagination, or did Sasuke just agree to live with him?

"Why'd you agree to this so quickly?" The blonde asked, crossing his arms with a suspicious glare.

"I told you this before, dobe," The raven replied nonchalantly. "I want to see what new options still exist for me."

"Fine, but the next time you try to run away, I'll make sure you stay in this prison for good."

Naruto opened the prison from the back and waited for the sand to clear away. As Sasuke crawled through the opening, he whispered softly into Naruto's ear, "You sure about that? It may take a little more than force to bring me back."

Naruto's blush deepened as he stood up and averted his gaze to his feet. Although he knew the raven was trying to mess with him, his blush betrayed his true thoughts.

"Are you trying to hit on me, Sasuke?"

"It's _your _assumption that I'm hitting on you," Sasuke said with a smirk. "I'm just saying I wouldn't let you capture me again as easily as last time."

Not wanting to admit defeat, Naruto shot him a quick glare.

"I can place you back into that prison if you want me to. Now, are you going to continue to piss me off, or are you going to come with me?"

Giving a shrug, Sasuke followed Naruto out of the woods.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't changed at all while working with the Akatsuki."

"Whilst you've only become even more submissive."

Sasuke managed to avoid Naruto's punch in time to swiftly disappear behind the trees. Knowing the blonde was serious, he quickly summoned a dozen small snakes.

_Can't he learn to take a joke? _He thought, frustrated.

The raven peered over a branch to see Naruto charging towards him with a small Rasengan swirling in his hand. With gritted teeth, he sent his snakes forward with a flick of his wrist. As soon as the first snake bit into Naruto's shin, he and the Rasengan _poofed_ from existence.

"Listen, Naruto-"

A snake from behind slithered up his leg and wrapped itself tightly around his neck.

_What the-_

It gave him a piercing glare before lunging towards a clear space. Still wearing a glare, the snake disappeared and Naruto took its place.

"Do not underestimate me. I am not the same person you knew as a genin."

Sasuke stood frozen to the spot as the blonde headed towards the village.

_Did I hurt him that badly? I've never seen him like this before._

Feeling bad for teasing him, Sasuke decided to take his chances and apologize to Naruto. It only took him a minute or two to catch up with the blonde nin.

"Look, Naruto-"

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

"I'm sorry for teasing you back there. It was completely uncalled for."

After staring into Sasuke's solemn onyx eyes for a few moments, Naruto knew he was being serious.

"I'm sorry too for attacking you like that. I-I'm just kind of stressed out from dealing with the villagers' problems every day. It's not easy being Hokage."

"So, are you going to show me where I'm going to live, or what?"

To Sasuke's relief, a wide grin formed on Naruto's face.

"Yeah, of course."

Fortunately, Kakashi was true to his word, and they didn't encounter a single person while traveling through the village. They finally reached the apartment, and Naruto eagerly unlocked the door and opened it.

"If you don't mind, I'd like for you to stay here until things start to cool down." Naruto said as he closed the door behind him.

"Sure, I don't mind."

After giving Sasuke a quick tour, Naruto explained he'd be busy for the rest of the day.

"See ya!"

"Bye, dobe."

While Sasuke cleaned up the entire apartment out of boredom, Naruto spent the rest of the afternoon rebuilding the village. With Yamato's help, they created a hospital and a couple of privately owned businesses.

To Naruto's delight, he was able to help rebuild an exact replica of Ichiraku Ramen Bar.

Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen Bar, profusely thanked him over and over again for rebuilding the shop.

"Once it's open, it would be my honor to give you as much ramen as you want, free from charge!"

"I'll be sure to take up on your offer," The blonde chuckled. "It was my pleasure to rebuild Ichiraku Ramen Bar."

The reconstruction for the day ended once the sun set. It was also around dinner time, and Naruto was starving. He joined up with Kakashi, Sai, and Sakura and they chatted about their day while heading to their apartment.

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto greeted as he and the others entered.

A mixture of thick and sweet scents met his nose, and he curiously walked into the kitchen. He had to quickly duck away and stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing at the scene before him. Sasuke, _the _Uchiha Sasuke, was cooking with a serious look on his face while wearing a frilly, pink apron. Although Naruto had to admit he looked good in it, it was too much of an odd scene to behold.

"What are _you _looking at?" The raven hissed, shooting Naruto a death glare.

"Nothing. What are you cooking?"

"I worked with whatever I could find in here, and made a main course and dessert. Now I'm just waiting for a few more things to finish up."

"Seriously though, where did you learn to cook?"

"The Akatsuki."

Still confused, Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"Its members have…_unique_ diets, so I was forced to learn to cook for myself and become familiar with the ingredients surrounding me."

"Something smells good," Kakashi commented, looking at what Sasuke was cooking. "Whoa, good job, Sasuke. I never knew you could cook."

"I'm sorry about the apron," Sakura apologized with a small smile. "It's mine."

"Hn."

While Sasuke continued to cook, the others set the dishes on the table. They even included Sasuke into their discussion from earlier while they ate.

"Thanks for the food, Sasuke!"

"It was really good."

"Agreed."

"It couldn't have been better."

It was well past midnight by the time they had run out of things to talk about.

"I'm going to bed," Sakura announced with a loud yawn. "Good night."

"Night, Sakura-chan!"

"Night."

"Good night."

"Hn."

As the others went to their bedrooms, Sasuke approached Naruto.

"Where will I be sleeping?"

"You can either take my cot or the couch. Your choice."

"I'll take the couch, thanks."

With an awkward smile, Naruto gave him a quick nod before leaving to his own room.

_Well, I finally had a good day! _He thought happily to himself. _Who would've known that Sasuke could actually act like a civilized human being?_

_You'd better enjoy it while you can, _another voice joked.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he saw a tall figure rise from the floor near the window. The moon light outlined a strangely familiar figure, but who was it…?

"Oh shi-"

Before he could reach for a kunai blade, the figure appeared before the cot with its hand around his throat.

"I am Madara, the leader of the Akatsuki. If you want your seven ninjas back, you will trade Sasuke for them by tomorrow afternoon."

The hand, along with the rest of Madara, vanished into thin air.

_Hinata…_

This was his last thought before his vision turned completely black.


	13. Chapter 13

"Can't give up Sasuke…" Naruto whimpered in his sleep.

_As the blonde explained what had happened the night before, Sasuke clenched his fists tighter and tighter._

"_I-I don't know what to do," Naruto stuttered, staring at his own feet with a dejected expression on his face. "I've seen what the Akatsuki are capable of, and the village can't handle any more destruction."_

_"So you're obviously thinking right now that I am more dispensable than the village," Sasuke said in a low voice. "Out of all the people I've known, you're the one I'd least expect to do this."_

"_Sasuke-"_

_"The Naruto I knew would've stood up to the Akatsuki and fight them. I am such an idiot for believing I could be able to live in Konoha again."_

"_Wait-"_

_"Piss off and leave me alone!" The raven hissed, getting up from the couch and slamming the front door behind him._

_A hot surge of anger flared within Naruto as he watched Sasuke leave. Without knowing exactly what he was doing, Naruto followed the furious Uchiha._

"_Where the hell do you think you're going?" Naruto yelled down the stairs._

_Sasuke ignored him and continued to make his way down the numerous staircases._

_Not even bothering to lock the door behind him, Naruto stomped down the stairs while muttering a string of curses._

"_Look, Sasuke-"_

_Naruto was interrupted as Sasuke's fist connected to his jaw. Stunned, he landed on his side and stared at Sasuke with a blank look in his eyes._

_With a low hiss, blue lightning bolts began to run along from Sasuke's palm to his shoulder._

"_Sasuke!"_

_Ignoring Naruto, the raven smashed through the wall and disappeared from sight._

"I'll never let them take you away…" Naruto mumbled with a frown.

"Naruto?"

The blonde snapped his eyes wide open and nearly gave a scream of horror. Madara's orange mask appeared a few inches from his face.

"What's wrong?"

The two menacing Sharingan eyes from before were replaced with the masked face of Kakashi. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Sakura, Sai, and Sasuke staring worriedly back at him.

_I can't hide this from them, even as much as I'd like to…_

Naruto refused to make eye contact with Sasuke as he explained what Madara had told him. Instead, he kept his eyes down to his hands.

"What should I do?"

Naruto's timidity grew as his roommates continued to stay silent. With a small sigh, he slowly brought his gaze to Sasuke's. His heart gave a painful lurch, and the blonde buried his face into his hands. The raven's unexpectedly hurt and angry glare etched itself into the insides of Naruto's eyelids.

"The most logical option in this situation would be for you to give me up to the Akatsuki. Wouldn't you agree, Naruto?" Sasuke suggested coldly.

"No!" Sakura shouted. "Can't we fight them off instead?"

"I don't think we could manage this alone…" Sai replied quietly.

"Forget it. Madara and the others are too powerful," Sasuke said. "I've caused enough trouble as it is, so I'll be leaving now. I know where their main base is."

"Don't leave, Sasuke!" Naruto pleaded. "There has to be another way."

"There _isn't _another way, dobe!"

"Now wait a minute-" Kakashi was interrupted as Sasuke shoved by him and stormed out of the room.

"Wait!"

Naruto pushed the sheets aside and followed after Sasuke. Before the raven could reach the door, Naruto lunged through and stood in the way with his arms spread apart.

"We haven't even discussed the other options!"

"There are no other options, you moronic dolt. Madara will kill Neji and the others if I don't go. Now get out of the way."

"Make me."

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke grabbed the blonde's shirt with both fists and threw him to the ground. By the time he left, Kakashi and Sai had already begun to chase him down.

"Take my hand." Sakura ordered, crouching down beside Naruto.

Still speechless, Naruto took her hand and slowly stood up.

"Why…?"

"You can't give up now, Naruto. Come on, and let's go stop Sasuke from doing anything else stupid."

"Right."

Naruto ran past Sakura and made his way down the stairs.

_Please don't leave, please don't leave, please don't leave…_

A loud explosion shook the ground, forcing him to hold on to the railing. A chorus of screams from both inside and outside pierced through Naruto's ears.

As soon as the shaking stopped, Naruto continued to stomp down the stairs.

_No, no, no, no, _no!

Finally reaching the bottom, Naruto slammed against the door and tried to take in the scene before him.

Thousands of rock and concrete fragments covered the immediate ground. To his left, he saw a large group of villagers gathering around something.

"Get out of the way!" Naruto yelled, shouldering past by the horrified villagers.

A wide crater appeared before him, and there laid the unconscious figure of Kakashi, resting in Sai's arms.

"Somebody get Sakura!" Sai shouted, pressing two fingers against the grey-haired ninja's neck.

"Sai, I'll go get her!"

Naruto turned around and struggled through the growing crowd.

_Why would Sasuke do something like this? _He wondered, fading into deep thought.

The blonde gave an "oomph!" as he accidentally ran into someone.

"Sorry-wait, Sakura!"

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but you have to hurry! Kakashi is hurt."

As Sakura went to inspect Kakashi, Sai escaped from the crowd and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders.

"Naruto, we must look for Yamato and Shikamaru immediately! After Sasuke was finished here, those two began to run after him."

"Fine, but we've gotta hurry!"

As the two ninjas ran swiftly through the village, Naruto questioned Sai about where they were going.

"I think they were heading towards the gate."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the gates of Konoha. Sasuke stopped struggling against Yamato's steel grip and gave Naruto a piercing glare.

"What the hell were you doing back there?" Naruto questioned with his arms crossed.

"Christ, Uzumaki! Are you incapable of getting a clue?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I-never mind. Why don't you just let me go?"

"Nobody is going to leave this village until I get some answers out of you. Yamato, take him to my apartment building. Shikamaru, you may leave. Thank you for your help."

"Yes, Naruto-sama."

"You're welcome."

Millions of questions buzzed through Naruto's mind as they made their way to the village. First and foremost, what had gotten into Sasuke? Why did he injure Kakashi? Why was he so desperate to leave Konoha?

_Maybe he changed his mind and wanted to become a part of the Akatsuki again? _A voice suggested.

_What? Why would he do that?_

_I hate to agree with him, but he's probably right. Why else would he attack Kakashi? _Another voice added.

_No. There _has _to be a different reason!_

_Don't get your hopes up, Naruto_,the first voice warned. _Sasuke is much more secretive and clever than you would wish for him to be._

Unfortunately for Naruto, he was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he had forgotten about the villagers gathered in front of his apartment.

"Look, there's Sasuke!"

"Let's kill the traitorous punk!"

"Yeah!"

"Listen to me and listen to me clearly!"

The angry villagers quieted down and waited for his explanation. The blonde gave a nervous gulp as he tried to think of what to say.

_You might as well tell them the truth, _a voice said.

_No, I would have to give up Sasuke if I did that!_

_Listen Naruto, _the voice replied impatiently. _It's either Sasuke or Neji, Hinata, Lee, Shino, Kiba, Tenten, and Gai. Even then, the Akatsuki would murder everyone if you kept Sasuke._

Naruto quickly wiped away a tear with his sleeve as he finally realized the full impact this decision would have on the village. This was possibly the most difficult and important decision he would have to face as Hokage. Would he step up as the leader of Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and sacrifice the safety of one for the safety of all? Or would he sacrifice the entire village for his love and best friend, Uchiha Sasuke?

_Heh, so this is how it ends between us. I finally realize that I love Sasuke, and shortly afterwards, give him up to the Akatsuki?_

In the steadiest voice possible, Naruto began.

"Last night, a member of the Akatsuki visited me. They are holding Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Tenten, Lee, Shino, and Gai hostage. They will trade them to us for Sasuke this afternoon."

"Then we will give up Sasuke once and for all!"

"Yeah!"

"If we are all in agreement, then we will be seeing those seven soon enough. Now please go back to your apartments."

While the villagers began to scatter, Naruto turned around to speak with Sai.

"Is it almost afternoon?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Then we'll return to the gates and wait for the Akatsuki to arrive."

"Wait, Naruto. Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, it's the only thing I can do now. The village would never be willing to accept him ever again."

"But don't _you _accept him already?"

"What I think will not keep Konoha safe."

"But-"

"Sai, please! I don't want to talk about it anymore."

They soon headed off to the gate. In order to keep himself together, Naruto thought about his father. How did he feel knowing he had to seal a demon into his own son for the safety of Konoha? How much strength did it take for him to do such a thing?

_My father did it out of love, so what am I doing this for?_

Was he even doing this for his village? For honor? Or perhaps to satisfy the guilt he had for seriously considering keeping Sasuke and leaving the rest to chance…?

Still, why was Sasuke doing this? After all they had been through, why was he allowing himself to be given up to the Akatsuki?

Was he going through this for…Naruto's sake? Or was he doing this so he could easily join up with the Akatsuki once more?

_But I thought Sasuke had given up on the wrongs of his past._

_Sasuke is a complex human being, _a voice replied. _Just give up on him. Don't make this harder on yourself than it already is._

The entire group stayed silent as they waited for the arrival of the Akatsuki and the seven Konoha ninjas. It was obvious from the pained look on Naruto's face that he was not in the mood to talk.

"Naruto." Sai said.

"Hm?" Naruto replied, still in deep thought.

"They're here."

Looking up, he saw a single, cloaked figure with a peculiar hat on approach them.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Sasuke," Madara took his hat off and turned to Naruto with an outstretched hand. "Uzumaki Naruto."

The blonde shook his hand stiffly and looked around.

"Where are my seven ninjas?"

"I will give them to you once you give me Sasuke."

"Yamato."

Naruto kept his eyes on Madara as Yamato let Sasuke go. Once the raven went to stand by Madara, the leader snapped his fingers.

"Kisame, release the hostages."

The seven shaken, but thankfully unharmed, ninjas silently entered Konoha for the first time in weeks.

"Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto. It was pleasant doing business with you."

As the three began to walk away, Naruto savored his last moments of seeing Sasuke. He didn't even notice Hinata hugging him.

"I-I didn't think I would ever see you again, Naruto-kun!"

"Welcome back, Hinata-chan." Naruto greeted with a weak smile.


	14. Chapter 14

"Are you guys all right?" Naruto asked, wondering if he should fetch Sakura. "Is there anything you need?"

"I'm gonna pass out if I don't get any sleep soon." Kiba complained.

"The village isn't completely rebuilt yet," Naruto reported. "But we do have apartments. Let's get going. The village is waiting for you."

With a heavy heart, Naruto and the others made their way back to the village.

"-else doing?"

"Hm?"

"How is everybody else doing?" Hinata repeated patiently.

"Oh, they're fine. Kurenai had a baby boy not too long ago."

"That's wonderful. What is his name?"

"Ryou."

"Hinata!" Hanabi yelled, running up to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. A little tired, but fine."

The villagers all began to gather around their long lost friends and family members.

"I cannot express how grateful I am of you for bringing back my daughter and nephew." Hiashi thanked Naruto.

"You're very welcome, Hyuuga-san."

After speaking with the rest of the families, Naruto quietly slipped out of the crowd to return to his apartment. The last thing he wanted to do was to socialize among those bright and happy faces.

_It was for the good of the village that you did this, _he reminded himself.

But what could he do for Sasuke now? He was as good as gone once Naruto told the village about the Akatsuki's deal. Even if he, Uzumaki Naruto, _did _manage to steal Sasuke back, the villagers still wouldn't be willing to accept him.

After all, Sasuke _did _injure Kakashi…

_Kakashi!_

Cursing himself for acting like a selfish crybaby, Naruto turned around and went to search for Sakura.

"Sakura! There you are!"

"Hey, Naruto! I was looking for you. I thought you would be visiting Kakashi as soon as you came back."

"How is Kakashi doing? Will he be okay?"

"He was beaten up pretty badly. He had quite a bit of internal bleeding, a broken leg, broken ribs, and a broken arm. He's still unconscious."

"Can I see him?"

"Yeah, he's in the hospital. I'll take you to his room."

A wave of guilt washed through his being as they walked to the hospital. After everything that had happened, and all he could think about was Sasuke?

_Why do I feel this way? He killed Tsunade, Danzou, the council elders, and he injured Kakashi, so why…?_

Frustrated, Naruto shook Sasuke from his thoughts and focused on Kakashi's well-being.

"Here it is. I have to check on my other patients, so I'll be back in a few minutes."

Holding his breath, Naruto turned the doorknob and entered the room. He had to blink a few times before his eyes could fully adjust to the lighting. The entire room, including its sparse furnishing, was painted white, and the afternoon sun flooded through the window, making the already white tiled floor even brighter.

Kakashi was laying peacefully in a simple, white bed in the corner of the room. He was also dressed in a white gown, and wore a sling on his left shoulder.

Feeling that he should respect the serene silence of the room, Naruto slowly brought a nearby chair to the grey-haired man's bedside.

He sat down, rested his chin upon his kneaded fingers, and studied Kakashi's calm expression.

"How can you look so relaxed in this situation?" Naruto asked in a low whisper.

Although it was Sasuke's fault that Kakashi was like this, Naruto felt as if he had a hand in causing his former sensei's injuries. After all, it was he who decided to trust the raven and allow him to live in their apartment.

_But I thought he had changed for the better! He told me his plans for the future and everything…_

"I swear to you Kakashi that I will make it up to you. It was wrong of me to carelessly endanger my friends like that, and I am so sorry…"

"Naruto?"

Looking up, he finally felt the hot tears rolling down his face.

"Oh, Naruto." Sakura walked swiftly across the room and cautiously wrapped her arms around him.

"What's wrong? Do you want to talk about it, or…?"

"I'm sorry for breaking down like this," The blonde apologized, fiercely wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "It's just that Kakashi is hurt, Sasuke is gone, Hinata's back, and I don't know what to do…"

"Well, maybe you should do something about Sasuke once things are settled down here. I hate to say this, but you need to toughen up and remember that it isn't the end of the world. It's your job to put on a brave face and move on for the sake of the village."

"Thank you, Sakura. You're right. There's a lot to be done before I can worry about Sasuke."

"That's the spirit! Now go out there and show Konoha who's boss! However, I need to stay here. I'll be back home sometime by tonight."

"All right. I'll see you later, then."

Naruto thought about what should be built next while he exited Kakashi's room.

_We definitely need a grocery store. There aren't enough produce stands around to feed the entire village. We also need more supplies…_

To Naruto's surprise, there weren't any villagers gathered outside of the hospital waiting to ambush him. Instead, they were carrying out their daily tasks like they did before the village was destroyed. It was quite pleasant for Naruto to see that he had finally done something right for once.

_I wonder where Yamato is…_

For the rest of the afternoon, Naruto and the other volunteers continued to rebuild the village. By the end of the day, they had successfully built a large grocery store and a couple hundred more beds.

"Good work, guys! I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

"See ya, Naruto."

"Bye, Naruto-sama."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Naruto was in a pretty good mood. They were finally making some real progress, and soon enough, he would be able to relax a little. He was definitely looking forward to taking on the traditional Hokage duties and seeing his village prosper once more.

Once he arrived at his apartment, he looked through the kitchen cabinets and grabbed a few cups of ramen. While he was preparing the water, he heard the front door open and close.

"Hey Sai!" The blonde greeted cheerfully.

"Hi Naruto," Sai greeted back with a cautious smile. "How are you?"

"Great," He replied a little warily. "I'm making some ramen for dinner. Do you know when Sakura will be back?"

"I just saw her speaking with Kurenai a few minutes ago."

"Cool."

Not willing to break the awkward silence, Naruto continued to cook their dinner. By the time he placed the cups of ramen on the table, Sakura finally arrived.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! I made ramen for dinner, if you don't mind."

"That's okay with me. I had a long day at the hospital and I'm starving."

The tense atmosphere melted away once they began to eat and chat among each other. At the end of dinner, Sakura suggested that they play a card game. It was nearly 11:30 by the time they decided to go to bed.

"I don't believe you, Sai! Your 'luck' was way too good. Admit it, you were cheating."

"It's not my fault you're horrible at card games."

"You guys can bicker about it tomorrow. Now go to bed!"

"Fine, good night, _mother_."

"Tch, I might as well be your mother. What would the village do if I didn't take the time out of _my _busy schedule to wake you up every morning?"

"Night."

_Although things aren't exactly back to normal, it's not so bad, now is it? _A voice pointed out.

_Yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe things will get even better tomorrow._

With a satisfied sigh, Naruto shut the lights off and slipped into his cot. Because he was so exhausted from the physical labors that day, it only took him a few minutes to fall asleep.

"_Hey, Naruto!" A villager approached, sweat glistening on his forehead. "We've run out of wood here."_

"_No problem. I'll go get some. How many more beds are you guys planning to make?"_

_"Just ten more."_

"_Cool. I'll be right back."_

_As Naruto entered the forest, he heard an odd noise coming from a distance. Curious, he stopped in his tracks. It sounded like somebody crying. Now why did this sound so familiar…?_

"_No, but it couldn't be…"_

_He swiftly ran through the woods and stood frozen at what he saw in the clearing where Gaara's handmade prison was placed._

"_Sasuke?"_

_He was surprised to see the raven sleeping fitfully, curled up under the shade of a large tree._

"_I'm so sorry, Naruto…" Sasuke mumbled._

_Naruto's heart welled up in joy at hearing those words come from Sasuke's mouth. At that moment, it didn't matter why the raven was back. All that mattered was the fact that he was truly back!_

_Feeling the urge to comfort the crying teen, Naruto sat by his side and tried to wake him up._

"_Sasuke? Wake up. It's me, Naruto."_

"_Naruto?" He replied groggily._

"_Yeah, it's me. Are you okay? Did you escape from the Akatsuki?"_

_"I missed you so much. Please don't ever give me up to them again."_

"_Don't worry, Sasuke," The blonde cooed, protectively wrapping his arms around the raven's shivering figure. "I'll never allow anybody to take you away from here ever again."_

_After sobbing quietly into Naruto's shoulder for a few more minutes, Sasuke wiped away the last of his tears._

"_I'm so…" The raven sniffed._

"_Hm?"_

_Naruto leaned in closer to hear what he was saying._

"_I'm so lucky for having such a gullible friend," Sasuke whispered in Naruto's ear. "It just makes my job that much easier."_

_Before Naruto had time to react, Sasuke shoved a kunai blade through the blonde's chest._

"_What? But-"_

"_You were always a pathetic excuse for a ninja, Naruto," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Allowing yourself to be blinded by your emotions…"_

_Naruto tried to say something, but only blood poured from his mouth. A violent cough wracked through his entire body as Sasuke pulled his bloody arm back._

"_I pierced through your heart, so you will die before anyone else notices you're gone. Really, Naruto. Did you think I'd allow myself to be captured like that? I just came back to kill you. Madara has no more use for you, and needed you gone so he could take over Konoha. Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto."_

_A surge of hurt, shock, and anger welled up in Naruto's being before his vision faded away. Sasuke gave him one last smirk before walking over the blonde's chest._

"No!" Naruto yelled, jolting up to a sitting position.

The sweat from his brow trickled down to his already wet eyes, stinging them. Still dazed, he clutched his shirt and found that his heart was still intact.

"Christ…"

Although Naruto knew he was far from danger, his heart continued to thump loudly in his chest. Looking through his window, he noticed that it was still pitch black outside.

"Naruto?" Sakura opened the door and turned the lights on. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Naruto shook his head. "I'm okay. I just woke up from a nightmare."

"It's really late…or is it early? Whatever it is, I'm dead tired. Would you mind if I went back to bed?"

"Of course not. Go back to bed, I'll be fine."

"Night."

"Night."

Once she snapped the lights off and left, Naruto laid back down and stared up at the ceiling with his eyes still stinging with tears.

"What were you _thinking_, Sasuke?" He whispered to himself.


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto gave a tired groan as he switched to his side and pulled the covers over his head.

_Why's the sun so bright this early?_

Still exhausted, his foggy mind pushed away this thought. He soon fell back asleep and began to snore.

The faint sound of hammers pounding and people chatting finally registered in his half-aware brain.

_Hey, wait, why did they start without me?_

"Oh, crap!" He yelled, realization clicking into place.

Forgetting to take a shower or at least have breakfast, Naruto jumped out of bed and raced out of the apartment.

"Why didn't anybody wake me up?" He growled as he ran down the staircases.

Slamming through the door, Naruto spotted Sai giving orders to a small group of villagers.

"Come to me or Yamato if you have any questions…" The black-haired teen said with a pleasant smile.

"Sai," Naruto huffed, approaching him. "Why didn't you or Sakura wake me up?"

"Sakura told me not to. She thought it would be best if you slept in."

"Ah…thanks. What is everybody up to, then?"

"They're halfway done with building the beds. Surprisingly enough, Shizune came to me this morning and gave me an old map of Konoha. She said she found it quite recently."

Reaching into his pocket, Sai handed Naruto the tattered map.

"Be careful with it. It barely survived Pein's attack on Konoha."

"Thanks, Sai. I'll be able to carry out the rest of my duties for today."

With a smile and a nod, he dismissed Sai. Looking down, Naruto inspected the state of the map. Although it was quite dusty and wrinkled, he went ahead and quickly opened it. His eyes widened in horror as the folds of the map ripped a few inches.

Praying it wouldn't rip any further, he carefully brought the map closer and began to read it. It looked identical to how Konoha used to look like, and as he squinted more and more, he noticed that there were notes in between the margins. They explained where certain trap doors were located in various buildings.

_Wow, I never knew these existed!_ He thought, clearly in awe.

_You know, this _is _a ninja village, after all, _a voice reminded him.

_Yeah, but there's still so much for me to learn…_

_You thought being Hokage would change that? _The voice said with a snort.

Taking in what the voice said, he was embarrassed to realize how far-fetched his original vision of the title Hokage was. He was so caught up in the idea of proving his worth to the rest of the village that he never even bothered to think about the responsibilities Hokages had to bear.

Even now, he wasn't sure how he felt about achieving his life-long dream. Ever since Tsunade had appointed him Hokage, he was too busy to just stop and really let it all sink in. As he took in a big breath, an overwhelming sense of awe washed over him.

_Tsunade trusted me enough to take care of her village._

No matter what else fate would throw at him, he would be ready for it. No more hesitating, no more showing weakness to his enemies, and no more making mistakes. He would no longer allow any more of his friends to get hurt. Even if he had to fight the Akatsuki himself, he would give it his all.

_But would I be able to fight Sasuke?_

"Hi Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted quietly. "Would you like to join with me and the others for lunch?"

"Oh, hey Hinata! Sure, I'll be right there."

Before he would have lunch, he wanted to put the map away in his apartment.

As he was entering his apartment, it had finally hit him that he would be eating with _Hinata._ The memory of Hinata professing her love for him flashed through his panic-stricken mind.

A worst-case scenario of the upcoming lunch began to piece together in his thoughts.

"_Welcome back, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a sweet smile, pulling out the chair next to her. "Would you like to sit next to me?"_

_"Hey," The blonde greeted back and sat down._

_As everybody passed around plates and chatted, Naruto was nervous to see Hinata more quiet than usual. It was common knowledge how quiet Hinata was, but this was a different kind of quiet. She sat completely still, with her gaze down to her empty plate._

"_Is there something wrong, Naruto-kun?" She asked in a hurt whisper. "I made all of this food, especially for you."_

_Not sure what to do, his palms began to sweat. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he didn't want to lead her on, either. With shaky hands, he placed a large square of lasagna on his plate. Even as he took his fork, stabbed a piece of the noodle, and placed it in his mouth, he felt the atmosphere grow more and more tense._

"_Hinata-chan, I-I…" He gulped, feeling his heart thump louder and louder._

"_Yes, Naruto?" She replied, turning her now hopeful gaze to his._

"_I'm gay!" He shouted the first thing that came to mind._

_Frozen, he heard the entire table go silent. As people began to stare, Hinata's hopeful stare stayed the same. Then, his words began to sink in, and the hope dimmed from her eyes._

"_Hinata-" The shocked blonde began, placing his hands on her shoulders._

_Ignoring Naruto, Hinata brought her hands to her blushing face and burst into tears. In a matter of seconds, Kiba and Ino came over to comfort the crying girl._

"_How dare you make this poor girl cry?" Ino accused. "She was kidnapped by the Akatsuki for weeks, and this is how you treat her?"_

Naruto gave a shudder as he placed the folded map in a drawer.

_Crap, what should I do?_

_Act normal, _a voice suggested. _And try avoiding the topic of Sasuke if you can help it._

Taking a big breath, Naruto mentally prepared himself for lunch as he exited his apartment.

_I wonder where we'll be eating…_

As he walked past by Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, he noticed that it was completely crowded.

"Hey Naruto!" Sakura yelled, waving him over.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was one of happiness and laughter. While the Konoha ninjas were chatting animatedly with one another, the all too familiar scent of ramen hit the blonde's nostrils, causing his stomach to growl with hunger.

_Here goes nothing…_

As he approached the bar, an eruption of clapping and cheers met his arrival.

"Welcome, Naruto!" Gai greeted, heartily raising his cup towards him. "Why don't you join us and have a bowl of this delicious ramen?"

"Yes, and it's free of charge!" The owner reminded, placing a steaming bowl of ramen on the counter.

"Thank you," Naruto took an empty seat next to Sakura. "I hope all of you have been doing well since you came back."

"It's wonderful to be back in Konoha," Hinata replied with a warm smile. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, well we should get back to eating," Kiba said with a faint snarl. "I'm sure that Naruto is very busy being the Hokage, and all."

Perplexed by the hostility in Kiba's tone, Naruto picked up his chopsticks and took a wary bite of ramen. Whatever Kiba's issue was, he would have to confront the blonde about it some other time. There was simply too much to be done before the village was completely built.

_What _is _his problem, anyway? I just saved him and the others from the Akatsuki._

Brushing the thought off, Naruto turned to chat with Sakura.

"Is Kakashi conscious yet?"

"No, not yet, but I'm sure he will be in a few days, or so."

"That's good to hear."

Before Sakura could respond, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"Oh, hello Hinata." Naruto greeted.

"H-hello Naruto," Hinata greeted back with a blush. "Here, I made a dessert for you."

The red-faced girl handed him a large cupcake. It smelled delicious, and it was decorated with intricately made orange and blue flowers.

"The flowers aren't real. They're made of modeling chocolate. I wasn't sure if you liked chocolate or not."

"Thank you, Hinata! Wow, I didn't know you could bake."

Hinata shyly fidgeted and continued to stare expectantly into his eyes.

Not wanting to be rude, the blonde took a bite into the vanilla cupcake. His eyes widened in surprise. It tasted as good as it looked!

"This is really good!"

"You're welcome," Hinata replied, her blush growing deeper. "Bye, Naruto-kun."

"I'll see you later, then. Thanks again for the cupcake!"

It took a full minute for him to realize the implications of his actions.

_Naruto, you dimwit! Hinata still likes you and you complimented her cupcake! _A voice criticized.

_Argh, well what was I supposed to do?! _He argued back.

_What's done is done, _another voice intervened. _Stop arguing and think of a way to reject her._

_Yeah, I guess you're right, but I can't outright tell her that I love Sasuke!_

_I wouldn't be so quick to throw away that option, _a voice disagreed. _It would be much more cruel of you to continue to lead her on._

Falling into deep thought, Naruto tried to think of a solution while he ate. Before long, his bowl was empty, and so were his thoughts. There was nothing he could tell her that would sound remotely sane.

Exasperated, he decided he would deal with Hinata later. After chatting with his friends for a few more minutes, he returned to overseeing the reconstruction of the village.

It was nearly sunset by the time Naruto dismissed the villagers for the day. He had fetched the map of Konoha from his apartment earlier and tried his best to recreate its complex contents. However, Yamato could only do so much before they were forced to continue building the old-fashioned way.

Naruto gave a wide yawn and paused to stretch his sore limbs. He was so exhausted that he decided he would go to bed as soon as he got home. Not in any kind of hurry, he adopted a slow pace. As he walked through the now deserted streets of Konoha, he noticed two shadows lurking nearby.

"Why did you bring me here, Kiba?" A girl's voice asked.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. She sounded exactly like Hinata! What were they doing here out in the open at sunset? Although Kiba was certainly assertive at times, he never took him as the type to take advantage of women. Still, Naruto was concerned for Hinata's wellbeing.

"I wanted to talk to you in private."

"Oh, okay. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I-I, well…"

_If he's hesitating, then I'm willing to bet that he isn't planning to harm her, _a voice reassured Naruto.

"We spent a lot of time together these past few weeks, right?"

"Yes, of course. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I could've been able to cope with the kidnapping."

"I feel the same way too! Do you see where I'm getting at?"

"No, I'm sorry, Kiba. I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say."

"Hinata, I-I love you! I know that you already love Naruto, but I can prove that I'd be better for you than Naruto would ever be!"

"Kiba-"

"Hinata, please listen to what I have to say before you reject me. Now that Naruto is Hokage, he won't have time to be with you or protect you. The village still needs to be built, and who knows how long it will take for him to take care of all of that political crap!"

"I-I need to think about this entire thing…bye, Kiba."

Frozen to the spot, Naruto slowly processed what had just happened. So, Kiba was in love with Hinata.

_See, now Kiba will take care of everything. You won't have to tell her anything at all,_ a voice pointed out.

_I wouldn't celebrate just yet. Hinata didn't exactly jump into Kiba's arms with joy, _another voice warned.

Hinata began to walk down the street and was heading towards Naruto's direction. The blonde jolted to his senses and quickly hid behind a pile of nearby wood. Holding his breath, he prayed that she wouldn't find him. Once the footsteps became faint, he stood up and warily made his way back home.

Fortunately, he didn't run into Kiba or anyone else.

"Where were you?" Sakura asked as Naruto entered the apartment. She was cooking in the kitchen while Sai was on the couch, reading.

After he took a seat next to Sai, he explained what had happened between Kiba and Hinata.

"Wow, go Kiba!" She remarked, obviously amused by the turn of events. "No wonder he seemed so touchy earlier during lunch."

"How intriguing…" Sai replied, fascinated by the entire situation.

"I'm beat," Naruto said with a yawn. "Night."

"Good night."

"Good night. Don't forget to eat something for breakfast tomorrow since you're skipping dinner."

"Will do. Thanks, Sakura."

Naruto fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. He had both a physically and emotionally draining day, and he was not looking forward to tomorrow one bit.


End file.
